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Accra, the nation�s capital and main gateway has interesting places to visit. The National Museum at Barnes Road has on show a large collection of pre-historic relics of early Stone Age civilizations which flourished in this part of West Africa. The items consist of stone tools like grinding stones, arrow heads and a large number of �celts� or axes. The rest include terracotta or hardened clay pots, clay pipes and bone combs. Other items to be seen are craft items, chieftaincy regalia and various handicrafts from Ghana and other parts of Africa, together with materials related to the coming of the Europeans and the Atlantic slave trade. Accra also has some good beaches, for example, La and Kokrobite, crafts shops, the National Theatre for staging interesting shows and numerous conference venues. Other beach resorts outside Accra can be found at Fete, Brenu, Busua, Axim and others. Wildlife enthusiasts in the city may visit the small zoo used for conservation education at the Achimota Forest to see some indigenous species such as primates, carnivores and reptiles. Birds are plentiful in the city, especially at the Botanical Gardens of the University of Ghana, Legon. Only a 40-minutes drive away from the city can be found the Shai Hills Wildlife Reserve famous for baboons and kob antelopes. Not far from Accra, on top of the Akuapem-Togo mountains is the over one hundred year old Aburi Botanical Gardens built by the British colonial administrators as a sanatorium for recuperating officers suffering from the hot coastal climate. The area is the historic home of the Basel missionaries who spread Christianity and education through the country in the mid 19th century. The Akuapem Mountains is also the place where the cultivation of cocoa in Ghana began after the introduction of the crop into the country in 1879. Here, visitors enjoying the scenic landscapes and salubrious mountain top climate can hear and experience the exciting story of how Ghana became the world�s leading producer of cocoa in 1910 at the Visitor Receptive Centre at the Tetteh Quarshie historic farm, named after the man who pioneered the cocoa and chocolate industry in Africa. Other scenic places in the country include the Kwahu Scarps as well as the Amedzofe area where the high altitude provide a pleasant climate. The vast Volta Lake, the world�s largest manmade lake, created after the damming of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam in 1966 presents vast opportunities for north-south travel through spectacular landscapes. A large number of medieval European forts and castles dotting the country�s coastline, more than anywhere else in the world, stand as witnesses to the obnoxious trans-Atlantic slave trade that saw the force trafficking of millions of Africans into the Americas to work on the sugar and cotton plantations and to build the physical infrastructures. The forts and castles of Ghana, together with some Ghanaian traditional buildings have been designated World Heritage sites by the United Nations. Kumasi, Ghana�s second largest city, also known as the cultural capital is surrounded by many craft centres. Among them are the hand-woven Kente cloth; the Adinkra cloth hand stamped with symbols and wood carving. Kpeote and Agbozume in the Volta Region are other kente weaving areas. Another important textile of the country is the fugu which is made in the northern parts of the country. Locally manufactured beads, pottery, ceramics and gold jewellery are other handicrafts made in Ghana. Lake Bosomtwe, the largest natural lake in Ghana and the West Africa sub-region has a very beautiful setting on top of a mountain not far from the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi. Believed to have been created by a falling meteorite millions of years ago, the lake still attracts scientists from all over the world trying to solve some hidden puzzles while the Ashantis regard it as a sacred water body. Described as Ghana�s unknown secret, the country�s impressive wildlife include a wide array of species-both plants and animals. Several endangered species like bongos, and forest elephants, are protected in various national parks including Ankasa, Kakum, Mole and more.