Axim

Axim is a coastal town and the capital of the Nzema East Municipal District in the Western Region of southern Ghana. It lies 64 kilometres west of Sekondi-Takoradi, west of Cape Three Points, and had a settlement population of 27,719 in 2013. The area was occupied by the Nzema people, and the Portuguese arrived by the early sixteenth century as traders and built Fort Santo Antonio in 1515; the Dutch expanded and altered the fort between 1642 and 1872, and it is now owned by Ghana and open to the public. The town is divided into Upper Axim and Lower Axim. Its economy rests mainly on the fishing fleet, with three tourist beach resorts and coconut and rubber plantations, and local artisanal miners pan for gold in streams inland. The Kundum festival is held every August, timed with the best fishing catch.