The Ghanaian Perspective: Opinion Articles on Current Issues

Tongo, the capital of the Talensi District, is a small town near Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital, known for its amazing rock formations, shrines, and beautiful landscapes.

The rocks are located in Tengzug, a small settlement located a short distance from Tongo’s main town. With its fascinating rock formations, caves and natural rock shelters, Tongo is the sacred place of the Talensi people and home to numerous shrines.

Also referred to as the whistling rocks, Tongo rocks, are famous for their unusual and strange arrangement where one rock comfortably sits on another.

These rocks are known for making strange whistling sounds when hit by the dry winds during the harmattan season around November and December of every year.

For the people of Talensi, rocks are a sacred dwelling place for gods and ancestral spirits.

Another attraction for many visitors, aside from the rocks and shrines, is a small community of mud houses with unique architecture, outside the chief’s palace. Each of these mud houses belongs to one household but are uniquely connected to one another by a labyrinth of narrow passages. 

The combination of beautiful landscapes and cultural richness at the Tengzug community has resulted in it being short-listed for future consideration as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.