Aburi Botanical Gardens Day Trip from Accra
Aburi is 45 minutes from Accra in the Akuapem Hills - cooler air, beautiful greenery, and one of the most relaxing day trips available from the city.
Distance
~35km each way
Drive Time
45 minutes each way
$150 - Aburi Botanical Gardens day trip
- Brand new 2025 BYD SUV
- Professional driver
- Fuel included
- Onboard WiFi
- Bottled water
- Flexible itinerary
The drive up to Aburi is the first thing that tells you this trip is different. You leave Accra's flat coastal heat, the road starts to climb, and within 20 minutes the air coming through the windows is noticeably cooler. By the time you reach the top of the Akuapem Hills, you're at around 400 metres above sea level and the temperature can be 5 to 8 degrees cooler than the city you left behind. On a hot January day in Accra, that alone is worth the drive.
The Gardens
The Aburi Botanical Gardens were laid out by the British colonial administration in the 1890s, and they have the quality of somewhere that was built carefully and then left to grow into itself. The mahogany trees are enormous. There are palms, fruit trees, ornamental plants, and a general sense of organised wilderness that you don't find in most of Ghana's urban spaces.
Go on a weekday morning if you can. Weekends bring families and school groups and the place gets crowded by midday. A Tuesday or Wednesday morning, you'll have long stretches of it almost to yourself.
The Afadua Hotel sits within the gardens and has a restaurant. The food is simple and reliable. Order the rice and stew or whatever the daily special is. The setting, a terrace inside the gardens with that cooler air, is genuinely excellent.
Aburi Town
The town of Aburi sits just outside the gardens. There's a craft market where local woodcarvers sell furniture and sculptures, most of it made from the same mahogany and wawa timber that the surrounding hills are known for. The pieces are heavy and not easy to travel with, but if you're based in Accra for a while and furnishing a space, this is worth knowing about.
The views from the hilltop looking back down toward the Greater Accra plain are striking on a clear morning.
Practical Details
The drive from central Accra takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic leaving the city. The road up the hill is well-paved but winding. Your driver knows it. Gardens entrance fee is a few cedis for residents and slightly more for international visitors. Bring cash.
This is a comfortable half-day trip, or a full day if you add lunch and a walk around the town.
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