Bolgatanga ( Frafra: ''Bɔlegataŋa''), colloquially known as ''Bolga'', is a town and the capital of the Bolgatanga Municipal District and

Upper East Region The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regi ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

, adjacent to the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...

. Bolgatanga has over 2012

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

and a population of about 66,685 people. Bolgatanga is 161 km (about 100 miles) to the north of

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

. Bolgatanga lies in the Red Volta River Valley (which serves as a major migration route of

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

), with the White Volta River and the cliffs of the Gambaga

Escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

to the south of the town forming the southern boundary of the Upper East Region.

History of Bolgatanga

The name Bolgatanga (Bolbatanga) was derived from the Guresi words ''bolba'' "migrants" and ''tanŋa'' "pyramid." Historically Bolgatanga was situated at the southern terminus of the ancient

Trans-Saharan trade route Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very d ...

. The eastern route converged with the Sahelian route, near Bolgatanga. Along the route, handicrafts—especially straw baskets, hats and fans, as well as

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

goods, metal

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

, and indigenous attires — were exchanged for

kola nuts The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These co ...

and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. The Upper East Region, where Bolgatanga lies, is part of what used to be known as the Upper Region. Between 1902 and 1960 the Northern Territory was a British protectorate; it was separated into the Northern and Upper Region on July 1, 1960. The Upper Region was apportioned into Upper East and

Upper West Region The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...

in 1983. The inhabitants of Bolgatanga migrated from Yoa a community in the Kasena Nankana east municipal. Tanzui The Apoka biisi's of Bukere a community in Bolgatanga were led by Apoka Kariyane. Communities in Bolgatanga - Atulbabiisi, Dagweom, Bukere, Soe, Yarigabiisi, Zuarungi, Poaliko, Tindaamoligo, Gumbiisi Zongo, Zongo.

Transportation

There are Public Transports from Bolgatanga to major cities such as

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

;

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

, Mim, Ahafo ;

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guine ...

, Sunyani;

; Tema; Ho; Wa; Elubo; Aflao,

Techiman Techiman is a city and is the capital of Techiman Municipal and Bono East Region of Ghana. Techiman is a leading market town in South Ghana. Techiman is one of the two major cities and settlements of Bono East region. Techiman is home to ...

Life in Bolgatanga

Bolgatanga is known as the

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

s centre of Upper East Region, with a large central market. Apart from items found elsewhere in Upper East Region, the so-called "Bolga hats" are made and sold in Bolgatanga. Bolgatanga and its surrounding suburbs also comprise the largest producers of leather works, straw baskets and smocks. The artists sell their works at the Bolgatanga Market, which is open every third day. There is also a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

in the town which houses objects of historical importance of the Upper East Region.

Climate

Bolgatanga has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BSh'').

Occupation & food

Farming is the main occupation of the people of Bolga. They engage in subsistence farming of millet, maize, guinea-corn, rice, beans, groundnuts and sweet potatoes during the raining season and irrigation farming of onions, tomatoes, and pepper during the dry season. almost every farmer rears at least a bird or animal. The main food of the people of Bolga is Tuo Zaafi (TZ) made with millet, corn or guinea millet flour with leaf soup (beto), rice porridge.

Tourism

Architecture and sights of Bolgatanga

Schools in Bolgatanga

* Bolgatanga Senior High School (mixed) * Bolgatanga Nursing Training College (mixed) * Bolgatanga Midwifery College * Bolgatanga Technical Institute * Bolgatanga Girls' Senior High School (Girls) * Zamse Senior High School (mixed) * Zuarungu Senior High School (mixed) * Zuarungu Nursing Training College * Bolgatanga Polytechnic

Bolgatanga Library

The Bolgatanga library is a notable design of award-winning American architect J. Max Bond, Jr., who was influenced by

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. Bond lived in Ghana for four years in the 1960s. The Bolgatanga library was his first major project while working for the national construction company. The design features perforated walls and an "umbrella" shaped roof, so the structure remains cool and well ventilated.

Paga crocodile ponds

Forty kilometres (about 25 miles) from Bolgatanga, is Paga, home to the sacred

crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant me ...

ponds. These are purportedly the "friendliest" crocodiles in Ghana, and it is said that the souls of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...

reside in them. The crocodiles roam freely throughout the ponds and it is unthinkable that anyone should harm them.

Bolgatanga Craft Village

Is an art center that showcase and sell woven baskets, smocks, hats, bags, leather works (bags, sandals), local and foreign beads, figurine dolls, sculptures, ceramics( bowls), local drums, art work from Mali, Nigeria and many other art works It was constructed in 2003 by the municipal assembly in promoting the cultural heritage of Ghana and Africa.

References

External links

Ghana-pedia website – Bolgatanga

''Culture and tourism: Upper East in focus.''
* {{Authority control Regional capitals in Ghana Populated places in the Upper East Region