About Elmina

The town of Elmina is situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast.

The first European settlement in West Africa, it now has a population of around 20,000 people, mainly engaged in fishing. Elmina Bay offers experiences of this long established industry, both for those who prefer to spectate and those who want to get involved.

The town grew around Elmina Castle 'Castle St. Jorge', built by the Portuguese Diego d'Azambuja in 1482 to protect the gold-rich lands discovered in 1471, and was Portugal's West African headquarters for trade and exploitation of African wealth. His expedition found gold and ivory and named the area "Mina de Ouro" - the gold mine.

The location of Elmina made it a significant site for reprovisioning ships headed south towards the Cape of Good Hope, on their way to India. The original Portuguese interest was gold and ivory but they then began importing cloth, blankets and linen from Morocco in exchange for gold dust and vast quantities of copper and brassware. To assist in the porterage of these goods the Portuguese began to import slaves from Benin in the 16th century; this trade of slaves greatly expanded to include tens of thousands of slaves channelled through the trading post of El Mina.

A church was built on the hill opposite the Castle. In 1637 the Dutch used the church and surrounding hill as a gun-position to attack the Castle and successfully took the castle from the Portuguese. The Dutch, wanting to protect the Castle from similar attacks, built a fortification in place of the church, a quadrilateral earthwork with a tower and gate and single-storey building within a courtyard and this is now known as 'Fort St Jago'

The town remained in Dutch hands until 1872, when it was sold to the English.  Elmina is also home to several Asafo shrines and a lagoon. Today, Elmina's main industry is the catching, smoking and processing of fish. 

The Elmina Bay Hotel is situated in a peaceful beachfront setting just 3km from Elmina Town.

Elmina area attractions include:

  •   Elmina Castle
  •   Fort St. George
  •   Busy town of Cape Coast with its wonderful 19th century buildings
  •   Cape Coast Castle visited by Barack and Michelle Obama
  •   The Dutch Cemetery, built in the 19th century, housing mausoleums and graves of former governors and residents
  •   Posuban Shrines
  •   Brenu Beach and Lagoon, home to hundreds of winter migratory birds
  •   Kakum National Park, 350sq.km nature park with tropical rain forest, rare wildlife, featuring a 'Canopy Walkway'
  •   Obuasi Mines