Upper East region Attraction

In the quiet village of Nania, just a few kilometers west of Paga in Ghana’s Upper East Region, lies a place where the earth still remembers. The Pikworo Slave Camp, carved into the rocky savannah, is not just a historical site — it is a memorial of endurance, a wound in stone, and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

A Camp Etched in Rock and Memory

Established around 1704, the Pikworo Slave Camp served as a slave transit center during the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Captured Africans from the northern regions of Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, and beyond were brought here by foot — often chained together — and held for days or weeks before being marched south to larger slave markets like Salaga and eventually to the coastal forts of Elmina and Cape Coast.

Unlike the imposing architecture of the coastal castles, Pikworo is raw and open. Its features are carved directly into the granite landscape:

• Feeding troughs etched into the rock, where enslaved people were fed like animals.
• Punishment stones, where captives were chained and beaten.
• Auction platforms, where human beings were priced and sold.
• Natural amphitheaters, where guards and traders gathered, sometimes forcing captives to sing or dance for amusement.

These features remain visible today — not as ruins, but as living scars.

The Journey of Suffering

From Pikworo, captives were forced to walk hundreds of kilometers south, often barefoot and malnourished. Many died along the way. Those who survived were sold again in Salaga, then marched further to the coast, where they faced the horrors of the dungeons and the Middle Passage.

The camp was part of a network of inland slave routes, and its location was strategic — close to the Burkina Faso border and connected to trade paths that fed the global demand for enslaved labor. European traders rarely visited Pikworo directly; instead, they relied on African middlemen and local rulers who had been drawn into the brutal economy of human trafficking.

A Place of Reflection and Reckoning

Today, Pikworo is a heritage site and a place of pilgrimage. Visitors walk the same paths once trodden by chained feet. They sit on the auction rocks. They touch the feeding bowls. And they listen — not just to guides, but to the silence that speaks louder than words.

Local custodians, often descendants of those who lived through the era, share oral histories that have been passed down for generations. These stories are not sanitized. They are raw, emotional, and necessary. They remind us that the slave trade was not just a coastal phenomenon — it reached deep into the heart of the continent.

Education and Preservation

Efforts have been made to preserve Pikworo as a site of education and remembrance. Schools, researchers, and cultural organizations visit regularly. However, the site still lacks major infrastructure, and its preservation depends largely on local initiative and community pride.

There is growing advocacy for the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) and international partners to invest more in the site — not just for tourism, but for truth-telling and healing.

Why Pikworo Matters

In a world still grappling with the legacies of slavery, racism, and displacement, Pikworo stands as a monument to memory. It challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths and to honor those whose lives were stolen, whose names were erased, and whose stories were nearly lost.

It is not just a Ghanaian story. It is a human story.

Visiting Pikworo

📍 Location: Nania, near Paga, Upper East Region, Ghana
🕰️ Best time to visit: Dry season (Nov–March) for easier access and guided tours

For guided visits and cultural experiences of Northern Ghana, see also various tour offers, below: