**Larabanga** is a small Gonja town in the West Gonja District of the **Savannah Region**, and it holds two of northern Ghana's most treasured wonders: the **Larabanga Mosque** — Ghana's oldest mosque and one of the oldest in all of West Africa — and the **Larabanga Mystic Stone**, a boulder that, by local account, refuses to be moved. **The Ancient Mosque** The Larabanga Mosque is a Sudano-Sahelian mud-and-timber structure, built in the 13th century (tradition says around 1421, though some accounts push it earlier). It is one of only a handful of surviving examples of this architectural style in Ghana — the others being at Bole, Banda Nkwanta and Nakore. It is often called the "Mecca of West Africa" because of its age and spiritual weight. Its design is unmistakable: a rectangular mud-brick base with **tapered, cone-shaped buttresses** and two **pyramidal towers** — one serving as the mihrab (indicating the qibla direction toward Mecca) and one as a minaret. The timber beams (called *toron*) jutting from the walls are not just decorative — they are permanent scaffolding, used every year when the community re-plasters the mosque during the annual *Dumba* festival. That re-plastering is a communal ritual, done by hand with a special mud mixture, and it is what has kept the building standing for over 600 years. The mosque is said to have been founded by a Muslim trader named **Ayuba**, who is buried beside it. It remains an active place of worship and a pilgrimage site, and it is on Ghana's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status. **The Mystic Stone** Just a short walk from the mosque lies the **Larabanga Mystic Stone** — a large boulder that, according to oral tradition, once stood directly in the path of a road the British colonial authorities wanted to build. When workers tried to move it, the stone is said to have returned to its original spot overnight, again and again. The story goes that the stone was eventually left where it stood, and the road was diverted around it. It is now a protected site, fenced and cared for by the community, and visitors still come to see it and hear the story. **Visiting** Larabanga sits about 4 km off the main **Tamale–Wa road**, roughly 130 km west of Tamale. The best time to visit is during the **Dumba festival** (usually around the dry season), when you can witness the mosque re-plastering. Modest dress is required — the mosque is an active place of worship, and non-Muslims generally view it from outside or with permission. A small entrance fee supports the community's maintenance of both sites. As the Akan proverb goes, *"Dua korɔ gyina hɔ ma abɔde"* — one tree stands for a whole forest. Larabanga's mosque and stone are that tree: a single small town carrying centuries of Ghana's Islamic and architectural heritage. If you'd like, I can point you to the GhanaMann **Travel** and **History** sections for directions, nearby listings, and more on Ghana's Sudano-Sahelian mosques.