Butre - a hidden treasure on Ghana's coast

The small, mainly fishing village of Butre outside Takoradi welcomed us warmly recently over the New Year. Apart from the begging habits of the kids, testimony not to their poverty but to their regular interactions with tourists who reinforce bad habits by giving handouts, the local people were very hospitable and the area is really majestic. Hideout lodge is a simple but well-run accommodation centre nearby the village and well worth a stay.


Fort Batenstein - built by the Dutch in the late 17th century, it was handed over to the British in the late 19th century and fell into ruin soon after


The beautiful beach at Butre, with Hideout lodge in the foreground and an Ewe fishing village 400 metres beyond

Inside the fort, which needs a bit of a weeding