Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankani District is in the far north of Ghana, right on the border with Burkina Faso. It is a town straight out of a Graham Greene novel. The town quietly accommodates around 50,000 to 100,000 people depending on where you judge the town to have stopped and the general rural sprawl to have begun. By European standards you'd call Navrongo a city as it has a Catholic Cathedral which, at nearly a century old, is positively ancient for Ghana. Yet, if you've ever seen Navrongo on a non-market-day, (market-day is every third day) you wouldn't dare call it anything more than a one horse town.

The people are mainly Kassenas¹ with many Nankanas too and both language are commonly spoken, as are English and Twi (the language of southern Ghana). Navrongo is primarily a market town but the schools, the prison, the customs operation are up the road in Paga (a small town right next to Ghana's border with Burkina Faso), the UN medical research centre and several government institutions provide a good deal of the local employment. Navrongo is not on any tourist trail which makes it a fascinating place to visit.

There are three seasons, Dry, Rainy and Hot. The rainy season lasts from May until September. In it, there are short storms that can get violent, and flooding is common. In October the Dry Season begins and the temperature cools down, but the air is dry and dust blows in the wind. By March, it becomes the hot season and obviously, the whole area becomes very warm, reaching temperatures around 42 degrees Celsius or 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The dry season is generally the best time to visit the area, as long as you bring water and towels.

The city is becoming more modern gradually and is much more mdoern than many surrounding areas. It has some utilities, but they go off occasionally. Its electricity is supplied by the Akosombo dam, which is where a great deal of Ghana gets its electricity. Water access is limited, but better than the access of those outside the city who have to pump their own water from boreholes.

Tourist Tips

There is much to see and do in and around Navrongo if you have an adventurous spirit but you really have to stay a while to appreciate the place fully. Here's how.

Make some friends

Navrongans are funny, generous, intelligent and despite the general poverty epidemic to that part of the world, (it has been hurt by the slave trade, the British empire and the World Bank) very friendly to all-comers; black or white. Of course they have social rankings and distinctions- sharks, dunces, meat-heads and geeks like everywhere else. Make friends and you'll be asked round to dinner and invited to all the best shin parties. (Don't turn down a funeral invite. They're the best parties going.)

Travel

The roads around Navrongo are very bad and old. Travelling a 160 miles can take up to eight hours on the wrong roads. There are buses that come around about once every week that will take you to Accra, the capital of Ghana which is not as beautiful but has better travelling accomodations.

Learn the language

Here are some handy Twi phrases that you might want to use in Navrongo.

See the Sights

For a place off the tourist trail, there's plenty to see.

Green Croccodiles.

The word 'green' is used because they don't know they're meant to eat you. To play with a crocodile, go to the town of Paga with a chicken (that's important!). If you don't do this with a friend in tow, find the croc pond, hand over a chicken and 20 pounds² and they'll tempt a nice big 15-footer out for you to play with. If you go with a friend, the procedure is identical except you chat to the for five minutes before handing over your 20 pounds. If you don't bring a chicken, expect to pay for a Paga chick what you'd spend on a Navrongo cow.

White Elephants

Sorry! The metaphorical variety. (Although a whole herd about 30 miles from Navrongo has been spotted.) The town's skyline is dominated by a huge hotel, leisure and cinema complex. It never got finished of course. But the shell is still used on market days as a clothing emporium. And if you are interested in genuine Eastern Bloc retro seventies clothing or Everton shirts dating from actual title-winning seasons, there's nowhere better.

Black Lizards

Star Wars fans will know all about Tatooine. The rest of you might like to think - biblical Bethlehem. The traditional housing consists of circular mud-brick, flat-roofed rooms encircling a central space, joined with walls and one or two doorways. They would be beautiful enough unadorned but the real attraction is the decoration. They are painted in hand-drawn geometric patterns and often adorned with paintings of lizards and other symbols. Anyone who doesn't like to snoop around someone's home might consider a visit to the cathedral which is decorated in a similar style. Bliss it is to be sat on a flat roof, looking out on harvested fields on a moonlit night sharing a Kassena meal with a good friend.

Red Lobster

Most foreigners in Navrongo are either VSO volunteers, US Peace Corps, Catholic Priests/Monks or UN health professionals. Not all of these are white of course and those that are are not there for a tan. But if you want to hang out and relax in the sun, Tono is best place for it. Annual membership is cheap and locals easily outnumber foreigners at this private club. There is a swimming pool, snooker table, bar, squash court, tennis court and a huge dam which, if you know the right people, you can go sailing on. Don't expect five star maintenance standards but everything works and the snooker table is always free.

Stand Still

No-one is going to rush you in Navrongo. So, just stand still and watch the harmattan blow a red dust over the landscape. Watch the rains purge the air. Watch crops and wild grass grow until you can no longer make out the horizon. Then, watch the sun sear the land and kill off all but the hardiest creatures, the trees, the insects, the Kassenas.

To summarise - If you want a day-trip, go to Yamossoukro in the Ivory Coast. But if you are prepared to stay a while, Navrongo will show you the world.