Tongo Hills

The Tongo hills are a group of granite outcrops rising from the savanna south of Bolgatanga, weathered into stacked and balanced boulders with compound settlements built among them, and they are the country of the Talensi. In a cleft in the rock at Tengzug is the shrine of Tongnaab, a major earth shrine whose reputation drew pilgrims from far to the south during the colonial period, and which remains active: consultations are made there and the site is administered by traditional priests. Visitors are required to remove their shirts to approach the shrine, a rule applied to everyone regardless of origin. Guides from the community take visitors up through the boulders and the village.

The landscape

• Balanced boulders - the weathered granite stacks across the hills.
• The Tengzug shrine - the rock-cleft shrine of Tongnaab.
• Talensi compounds - houses built among the outcrops.
• The savanna view - the plains from the higher rocks.

When to go

November to March in the dry season for the easiest walking; the hills are hot and exposed. Mornings are cooler. Harmattan haze is heaviest in December and January.

Good to know

The shrine has strict rules including the removal of shirts, and photography is restricted or prohibited in places. A community guide is required and fees are negotiated. The walk over the rocks is steep and hot with no shade.

Nearby

Bolgatanga lies north; Navrongo is northwest.

Key facts