How to get to Larabanga Mosque

About Larabanga Mosque

Larabanga's whitewashed mud-and-timber mosque is built in the Sudano-Sahelian style, its walls bristling with wooden beams that double as scaffolding for re-plastering after each rainy season. Local tradition dates it to 1421, which would make it one of the oldest mosques in West Africa, and it keeps an old handwritten Qur'an. Weather wears the adobe down, so it has been restored many times — most recently in 2023 — with the World Monuments Fund among its long-time backers. It sits about 4 km from Mole National Park's entrance.

Getting there

Larabanga is on the road between Damongo and Mole National Park in the Savannah Region, about 4 km from the park entrance. Most visitors come via Tamale and Damongo, and stop here on the way to or from Mole.

For live, turn-by-turn directions from wherever you are — by car, trotro, motorbike, bicycle or on foot — open Larabanga Mosque on the Lincoln Navigation map. It also shows the weather there and any road hazards reported along the way.

Before you go

• The mosque is a working place of worship; visits are arranged with local guides in the village, and visitors are usually shown it from outside.
• Dress modestly and ask before taking photos of people.