Burundi sits smack in the center of Africa, at the northern end of the beautiful Lake Tanganyika bordering Tanzania, Rwanda and the rain forest jungles of DR Congo. By a strange stroke of fate, her map emerged fully resembling a human heart; and colloquially, she has been referred to as the Heart of Africa; it must be the bleeding heart of Africa, where years of tribal cultural and political differences have robbed her people of peace and the opportunity for social cultural development at par with her neighbor/peers.Thus except for the areas around Bujumbura the capital, the rest of the 27,834km²country of 10m remains mostly rural and under-development with infrastructure,roads, national parks, accommodation facilities and other tourism facilitieseither inadequate or altogether not available.
Most visitors to Burundi opt to stay in Bujumbura and enjoy the magnificent Lake Tanganyika, the deepest and one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, upon whose northern shores the city sits.There are also opportunities for fun, leisure, beach front and water-sports on Lake Tanganyika as well as sightseeing tour of Bujumbura. If time allows, enjoy sightseeing and cultural day tours to the hinterland. Gitega is popular as the cultural capital of Burundi where one can tour the National Museum and the close-by GishoraDrum Makers workshops and the Cultural Dancers Centre. In the South, you can view the Livingstone Stone and the reputed furthest source of the River Nile whileKibiramontane-forest National Park is home to over 95 different mammals’ species including a family of semi-habituated chimpanzees as well as over 200 species of birds. Bujumbura also provides opportunities for dining out at nice local restaurants where you will mix and mingle with local Burundians as they go about their daily life. Although French is the official language, English is widely spoken and it is relatively easy to get by.
Bujumbura International Airport (BJM) situated in Bujumbura the capital is Burundi’s principal gateway and the only one with an all-weather runway. A large of regional and international air carriers fly into BJMincluding SN Brussels, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines,Rwandair, South African Airways, Rwandair as well as Etihad, KLM and Air France connected via Kenya Airways.There are also land based border crossing points with Tanzania and Rwanda and the one with Rwanda is efficient and not far (within a few hours) from Kigali where there are more flight options making it an ideal entry point.
A Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate is a mandatory requirement for entering Burundi.
Burundi sits on the African tropics in a malaria prone area. Anti-malarial prophylactics are recommended. We also recommend sleeping under a mosquito net every day, to bring mosquito repellant as well as long sleeved tops and long pants for the evenings/at dusk when mosquitoes tend to be more active.
Because we are not totally certain of the quality of tap water, we recommend bottled mineral water for drinking and brushing at all times.
National of most countries require a visa to enter Burundi. It is recommended you obtain a visa from the Burundi High Commission closest to you before departing for Burundi. A few nationalities are allowed to obtain a Visa on arrival at a Burundi port of entry. You shall however definitely be required to bring your original passport with a validity of 6 months beyond your stay and several blank pages for Burundi visa stamp. If you would like to take advantage of this facility, please reconfirm the specific requirements for your nationality with your Travel/Ticketing Agent before departure.for more information, please see. https://burundi.travisa.com/