Donkor Nsuo (The Slave River) as many calls it. Assin Manso Slave River is located in the Central Region of Ghana, it served as the place where slaves had their last bath on African land before being marched down to the slave castles of Elmina and Cape Coast along the coast. The slave river was one of the gathering points during the period of the First Atlantic Slave Trade in Ghana.
At this river site slaves were fed and allowed to rest for several days or weeks. When it was time to leave, they are been sorted, leaving the weak ones behind chained trees, where the unthinkable happened. The stronger captives continued walking for approximately 40 miles to Cape Coast Castle, still shacked and chained.
The Ghana Tourism Authority in recent times through its year of Return campaign has made the river site grow in popularity. A lot of historical activities go on when you visit the site; thus, one will observe an Ancestral Graveyard (the Memorial Wall of Return) where most Africans write their names as a way of indicating the discovery of their roots.
As part of the experience, tourists remove their shoes and walk barefoot down the path to the muddy river that runs through a bamboo grove, and they place their hands in the river to offer thanksgiving prayers for the opportunity to return.
