I booked a tour with a local company, Ashanti African Tours, to spend four days in Ghana, visiting the forts and the Asante traditional buildings as well as the Akwasidae Festival, a traditional Asante festival that happens once every six weeks.  I was too focused on visas and anti-malarials and a snow storm to closely check the itinerary, which just had an afternoon visiting the site.  I was disappointed to learn that only the shrine at Ejisu-Besease had been included.  I asked that more be added and also visited Adako-Jackie, which is nearby.  I would be specific on any tour and say you want to visit multiple of the shrines.  Although I usually have a 30% rule — e.g., have to see at least 30% of the components of a site — I am going to mark this one off, as I did the best I could and I already compromised my rule with the Stecci.

As to the buildings, they are shrines built in the traditional Asante style, often in the 1800s to early 1900s.  Due to the wars with the British, there are only around ten such buildings remaining.  In many cases, there have been shrines on the sites for hundreds of years.  This he shrines typically have four buildings around an open courtyard and have decorated walls and thatched roofs.  Some of the thatched roofs are being replaced by metal ones to better protect the buildings and lower maintenance costs.  The shrine at Adako-Jachie was under active renovation when I visited and was larger and had more decorations (but no thatched roof).

Date of Visit: January 2025

Rating:  Three stars.  I am torn on how to rate sites like these, and I went with a three because it’s nice to have a diversity of non-European cultural sites on the list, even if they aren’t as dramatic as Angor Wat or the pyramids of Giza.  The sites were actually relatively well labeled with descriptions about how the buildings were used, and it appears that the government is restoring the buildings.  It would be great to have a website that clearly marks all locations.

Logistics:  See above.  Booked a multi-day tour.  The buildings are generally locked, and a local keeps the key and will let you in for a tip.  It can be done on self-drive or by taxi from Kumasi, but would take some work to hunt down the keys.  A local tour, including a day trip from Kumasi, would be helpful.

Signs: Both sites had new signs indicating the name of the site and UNESCO status as part of the Asante traditional buildings.  The signs were in the same style as the signs marking the forts and castles sites.