Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
The Congo-Nile Divide
A ridge running the length of the country, with the Nile on one side and the Congo on the other.
East Africa · Afrinkong
Burundi
The southernmost source of the Nile.
A country of hills above Lake Tanganyika, with the drummers of Gishora on the UNESCO list, chimpanzees at Kibira, and a marker at Rutovu on the ridge where the Nile's longest tributary begins.
Where it is
Africa · East Africa · Burundi
The land in brief
- Spans
- 190 km E–W, 240 km N–S
- Latitude
- 2°S to 4°S
- Borders
- 3 countries
- Sea
- Landlocked
- Best time
- The long dry season, June to September.
Also in East Africa
DjiboutiWhere three plates pull apartEritreaArt deco Asmara, and the Dahlak islandsEthiopiaThe roof of AfricaKenyaWhere the safari was inventedRwandaLand of a thousand hills
Compare Burundi with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The long dry season, June to September.
01Highlights
What Burundi is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Chimpanzees at Kibira
Montane forest continuous with Rwanda's Nyungwe, with chimpanzee and colobus in it.
Mount Heha
2,684 metres, an hour from the capital, with the whole rift visible from the top.
Beaches & Coast
Saga and Karera Beaches
White sand on Tanganyika south of Bujumbura, with the Congo visible across the water.
Forests & Rainforest
Kibira
Forty thousand hectares of montane forest on the divide, and the country's water tower.
The Drums
The royal drummers of Gishora are on the UNESCO list, and they are not a performance troupe.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Burundi with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- The Congo-Nile DivideA ridge running the length of the country, with the Nile on one side and the Congo on the other.
- Mount Heha2,684 metres, an hour from the capital, with the whole rift visible from the top.
- KareraFour falls in one forested gorge in the southeast, with a path between them.
- Lake TanganyikaThe second deepest lake on earth, and Burundi has a hundred and sixty kilometres of it.
- Saga and Karera BeachesWhite sand on Tanganyika south of Bujumbura, with the Congo visible across the water.
- KibiraForty thousand hectares of montane forest on the divide, and the country's water tower.
Wildlife
- Chimpanzees at KibiraMontane forest continuous with Rwanda's Nyungwe, with chimpanzee and colobus in it.
- Rusizi and RuvubuHippo and crocodile in the Rusizi delta, and buffalo and antelope along the Ruvubu.
- Kibira's WaterThe forest feeds the hydro that runs most of the country, and protecting it is not sentiment.
- Hiking the HillsHeha, Kibira and the ridge roads, none of them more than a day.
People and culture
- The DrumsThe royal drummers of Gishora are on the UNESCO list, and they are not a performance troupe.
- Hutu, Tutsi and TwaOne language, Kirundi, spoken by everybody, and a history the country is still working through.
- GishoraThe drum sanctuary above Gitega, where the drums are kept and danced on their own ground.
- Basketry and DrumsCoiled agaseke baskets with pointed lids, and the drums themselves.
- Beans, Ugali and MukekeBeans and plantain, ugali, and mukeke — a Tanganyika fish grilled on the beach.
- Lake and HillsShort distances, calm fresh water, and hippos to keep an eye on.
- The Beach on a SundayBujumbura goes to Saga beach, and stays until the light goes.
Places
- Bujumbura and GitegaA lakeside city with a long promenade, and the political capital up in the hills.
- Colonial and HillsideGerman and Belgian colonial in Bujumbura, and tiled hillside houses everywhere else.
- RutovuA stone pyramid on a ridge marking the southernmost source of the Nile.
- The Ritual Dance of the Royal DrumInscribed in 2014 — the drums, the dance and the making of them, together.
Ways to travel
- Walking the DivideKibira on foot, Mount Heha in a morning, and the lake shore road south.
- ModestA handful of hotels in Bujumbura, and lodges on the lake shore.
- Drums in MotionGishora mid-performance, when the drums are carried and struck at once.
- Rusizi DeltaHippos, birds and the Congo across the water, twenty minutes from the capital.
03Why go
The case for Burundi.
Why Visit This Country
Why Burundi
The Nile's furthest source, the royal drums, and a lake almost nobody visits.
Hidden Gems
Rusizi Delta
Hippos, birds and the Congo across the water, twenty minutes from the capital.
Eco Tourism
Kibira's Water
The forest feeds the hydro that runs most of the country, and protecting it is not sentiment.
Heritage
The Ritual Dance of the Royal Drum
Inscribed in 2014 — the drums, the dance and the making of them, together.
04Go deeper
All of Burundi, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Burundi starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.