HOLIDAY IN BURKINA FASO   >   AFRICA  


Provinces in Burkina Faso : Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houe, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo.

Capital City of Burkina Fasso: Ouagadougou, referred to by locals as "Waga."


hotels, tour operators, travel guides, travel to burkina faso 

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Hotels in Burkina Faso / Hostels

   -   Hotels Ouagadougou
Sofitel Ouagadougou Silmande and Mercure Silmande Ougadougou.

 
Mercure Silmande Ougadougou, only 2km from the city centre and the airport with a shuttle service available, the hotel offers a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding woods.

National Parks

  Arli National Park   -   Parc national d'Arli
Located 72 miles from Ouaga, in the Southeast country, along the border with Benin. This is Burkina's main game park with elephants, monkeys, lions, hippos, leopards, antelopes and birds. The park is open between December 15 and May 15, with hunting of certain big game until March 15. Hunting of some smaller animals is permitted during the entire period. Permits are required and may be obtained from the Forest and Wildlife Service.
  Kaboré Tembi National Park   -   formerly known as Pô Park
Located 65 miles South of Ouaga; in this 150,000-hectare park visitors may see monkeys, wart hogs, antelopes. Since many of the animals formerly populating the area have migrated, a trip to the Nazinga Ranch (Ranch de Nazinga), near Pô and the Ghanaian border, may provide more sightings of elephants and other wildlife. 
  W National Park   -   Parc national du W
Located East of Arli and shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger; this is the largest of the three parks and one of the most beautiful nature reserves in West Africa. Opened in 1954, the park was named for the meanders in the course of the Niger River which form the shape of the letter W. Visitors may see savanna fauna: buffaloes, elephants, hippos, antelopes, monkeys, and lions. The park is also a bird sanctuary, especially for aquatic birds. Like Arli, W Park is open between December 15 and May 15.

Travel Agents / Tour operators

    

   -   Create your perfect trip to Burkina Faso
Flight, Hotel and Car

  Mountain Travel Sobek 
  Chemins de Sable   -   2, rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris



Travel Guides Burkina Faso / Related books

Burkina Faso (Bradt Travel Guide)
Katrina Manson (Author), James Night (Author)
This guide to Burkina Faso brings to life the many attractions of this stable country which offers a thriving culture, laidback cities and stunning wildlife encounters. The authors help visitors discover dramatic mask festivals, Fulani horse-dancing and both the pan-African Siao film festival and the Fespaco craft fair, both in Ougadougou - two of the largest events of their kind on the continent. The romance of the Sahel desert can also be explored and information on desert markets, camel safaris and secret dune encampments is covered for the intrepid traveller.
Paperback: 312 pages; Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1 edition (22 May 2006); ISBN-10: 1841621544; ISBN-13: 978-1841621548.

How to travel to Burkina Faso

Best time to visit: November-February.

Landlocked nation of western Africa, surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Côte d'Ivoire to the south west.

  Ouagadougou Airport [ OUA / DFFD ]   -   3 km from Ouagadougou Cty

  Airline Tickets /  Bargain Flights   -   price comparison possible

Train service Abidjan-Bobo-Ouaga-Kaya.

Buses and vans (cars) to Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo. 

Le Burkina Faso est relié par des routes asphaltées à l'ensemble des pays voisins (Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Togo, Bénin, Ghana).

Maritime  -  Ports autonomes d'Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), de Lomé (Togo), de Cotonou (Bénin) et de Téma (Ghana)

  Maps International   -    
Mapsinternational.co.uk is one of the largest map shops online.
  Map Burkina Faso [ Uni Texas   -   Perry-Castañeda Library   -   Map Collection ]


Links 

  Government Burkina Fasso   -   offificiel site of the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso

  Ouagadougou   -   Capital City of Burkina Fasso   -   Mairie de Ouagadougou
"Ouaga," to the locals, is the capital of Burkina Faso and a major cultural center, built around the central market, featuring food, fabrics and crafts. The city has large shaded avenues, modern architecture, hotels, a congressional palace, a center for international conferences, numerous municipal gardens and a forest (park) with a lake and exotic birds. Most of the central area can be visited on foot, but the city also has bicycle lanes in its wide boulevards. In the center are the Presidential Palace to the east, the Cathedral and the Mogho Naba's Palace to the south.

  Banfora
Situated in one of the most beautiful regions of Burkina Faso, Banfora is a small town in the Southwest on the Ouaga-Abidjan trainline. Unusual mushroom-shaped rocks in an escarpment overlook the town which has a market in the center, and provides a good base for excursions in the area. Banfora is an industrial city with sugar cane plantations and factory, and a flourmill.
  Bobo-Dioulasso
Bobo-Dioulasso, founded in the 14th century, has become the economic and cultural capital, and second largest city of the country. It is a favorite tourist destination with most of the comforts of Ouaga but at a more relaxed pace, and manageable on foot. Its streets are lined with fromagers, baobab, and mango trees. Every year, Bobo hosts the Semaine nationale de la Culture (National Culture Week), one of the most important arts events of the country with music, dance, masks and theater.
  Dafra   -   place of animist cult
  Dori
155 miles Northeast of Ouaga, gives a foretaste of the Saharan landscape. The area is inhabited by Tuaregs, Fulani, Bela and Songhai and is a crossroads for the region.
  Fada N'Gourma
130 miles East of Ouagadougou on the Ouaga-Niamey highway, is a quiet town, spread out, with wide shaded avenues. The market is in the center of town. Fada is conveniently located to Arli National Park, and other natural attractions.
  Koubri   -   south on the Nationale 5
It is the site of a Benedictine monastery and market-gardening areas around the dams.
  Koudougou
60 miles West of Ouaga, is the 3rd largest town in Burkina Faso. It is known for its textile industry and "red dancers," a group of Gourounsi dancers. The town is spread out, with shady avenues, and a large market in the center.
  Loumbila   -   on the National 3
Has market-gardening areas around a dam where visitors can take a canoe ride. 
  Manega  -   several miles North of Ouaga on the Pabré seminary road
It's a center for African culture, established by the lawyer/poet Frédéric Pacéré Titinga. An open-air sculpture park, ethnological museum, and mausoleum dedicated to the major Mossi kings are an interesting stop.   
  Nobéré is known for its huge baobab tree which is several hundred years old.
  Ouahigouya and Vicinity
The country's 4th largest city, Ouahigouya is 115 miles Northwest of Ouaga. The town is spread out, with a new market in the center, and a lively nightlife.
  Ziniaré, North of Ouaga on the road to Laongo, is an interesting stop where the villagers make pottery, tan leather, and dye cloth in wells dug in the ground. 

  Gourounsi - Pays de
Plusieurs ethnies se sont installées dans cette région du sud. Leurs cases, ornées de motifs peints ou de totems s'articulent autour de villages protégés par une ceinture de murs. Dépaysement garanti
  Laongo
L'artiste Sidiki Ki a invité en 1989 des plasticiens du monde entier. Ils ont semé de sculptures contemporaines la brousse alentours. Un site magique.
  Lac de Tangrela   -   à la recherche des hippopotames
  Sahara
Le nord du pays, plus les baobabs se font rares et le sable envahissant. Cette région est encore habitée par de nombreux peuples nomades (Peuls, Touaregs...) aux traditions quasi intactes.

  Magazine   -   Journal du Jeudi   -   satirical weekly
  News from Burkina Faso   -   Fasonews   -   Actualité Moteur de recherche information
  News   -   Le Pays
  News   -   Sidwaya   -   Quotidien, Sport en Magazine
  News   -   Zedcom   -   Journal burkinabé on line
  Radio Nationale du Burkina
  Radio   -   RFI (Radio France Internationale)
  University Burkina Faso   -   University of Ouagadougou

Cuisine   -   Burkina Faso Foods

The staple foods of Burkina Faso are millet, rice, maize (corn), nuts, and yams. Many meals are planned around rice, with some meat or one of several flavorful sauces. Peanut sauce, eggplant sauce, and fish sauce are the most common.
Yams and plantains pounded into paste can also be the base for a meal. In the northern desert areas, the Burkinabe eat dates and various curdled milk products similar to yogurt. A red fruit called tamare is popular as a thirst quencher, and gib-gib is a sweet made from the fruit's crushed seeds.

  Cuisine of Burkina Faso [ Burkinabe cuisine ]

History of Burkina Faso

Independence: 5 August 1960 [ from France ]

Burkina Faso was an important economic region for the Songhai Empire during the 1400's to the 1500's. Relics of the Dogon are found in the centre-north, north and north west region.
In 1896, the Mossi kingdom of Ouagadougou became a French protectorate after being defeated by French forces. In 1898, the majority of the region corresponding to Burkina Faso today was conquered. In 1904, these territories were integrated into French West Africa in the heart of the Upper-Senegal-Niger (Haut-Sénégal-Niger) colony.

  Burkina Faso's History   -   Wikipedia
  Songhai_Empire [ Wikipedia ]
From the early 15th to the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire was one of the largest African empires in history. This empire was centered around the city of Gao, and its base of power was on the bend of the Niger river in present-day Niger and Burkina Faso.

  National Museum
Contains traditional masks from Burkina's main ethnic groups, a large collection of traditional musical instruments, baskets, pottery, farm tools.

Music, Art & Culture, Events

  Burkino Faso Music
The Mande people of the southwest are known for balafon (xylophone) music, while the large, centrally -located Mossi and their griots retain ancient royal courts and courtly music. The Fulbe of the north use complex vocal techniques with clapping percussion...

  Culture of Burkina Faso
The culture of Burkina Faso in West Africa is also called the Burkinabe′ culture.


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