Burundi

Visited: May 2022

Duration of visit: 10 days

Capital city: Bujumbura

Population: 12 million (2022)

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

• Bujumbura – located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika is easy to explore, without too heavy traffic after moto-taxi ban.
• Tasting fish, drinking and chatting with local friends at the beach of Lake Tanganyika.
• Drummers performance in Gishora Drum Sanctuary – a mix of combat-style dance, specific rhythms, religious rituals, epic poetry, the power and energy of the performers.
• Batwa village, where local pygmy tribe performed an improvised dance, full of energy and emotions.
• Nyakazu Canyon – hard to reach with moto-taxi, but extremely rewarding. Standing on the top of the canyon and listening to a fine singing by a local boy.

It wasn’t easy to get useful information about Burundi before the visit. The country had been constantly on the no-go list by Western embassies and travel guides were not providing updated guidance or reliable advice. Internal fights, racial issues, political and/or corruption affairs, external conflict with neighboring Rwanda and Covid-19, were some of the obvious reasons.

In addition, the facts that Burundi is one of the poorest, less attractive and most densely populated country in the world, with hardly any outstanding (or well-known) attraction, were not very helpful.

Burundi is only half bigger than my home country, Slovenia, but its population is 6 times greater. The third most densely populated country in Africa (after Mauritius and Rwanda) reflects in huge amount of people on every step: in the capital city of Bujumbura, smaller towns and villages. Many are so poor that they cannot afford to pay for public transport. Instead they walk or ride a bicycle.

I got a tourist visa in advance at Burundi embassy in Kinshasa. The consular employee gave me a list of requirements and two days lead time to get a visa. At the same time, he mentioned that he can help me, if I help him. OK, here we go. We are in DRC, one of the most corrupted countries in the world.

Without hotel reservation, airplane ticket nor invitation letter, I got Burundi visa 30 minutes later for 90.00US$, plus a small gift. This is how Africa works. Later, I realized that there was a very straightforward and cheaper option to obtain it on arrival at the airport.

At the time of landing at the airport in Bujumbura, it was obvious that this is one of the less busy airports of capital cities in East Africa. Nevertheless, there was a group of famous drummers, dressed in traditional, green-white-red costumes, waiting at the entrance at an airport building. “How amazing. They will receive us with traditional drums, dance and concert!“, were my thoughts and expectations, observing through the airplane window.

Our aircraft, unfortunately, passed the area with the drummers, until we stopped in front of another building.

No music, only boring security officers, police and airport staff directed us to a counter, where 100.00US$ was collected for Covid-19 PCR test. I had never paid so much money for a PCR test. It cannot be happening in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Later, I found out that the music performance was put together for the Congolese president, who was visiting the country on the same day, landing only 15 minutes after our airplane.

Bujumbura is a half capital of Burundi (the second half being Gitega) and by far the biggest city with approximately one million inhabitants. If top attraction is claimed to be a Musee Vivant – a small zoo, then it is clear that Buja is not the place to do traditional sightseeing.

Walking around downtown, I was approached by all kinds of people, but basically there were two groups: those asking me for money and those offering me a variety of products and services that I didn’t need. After a polite no and explanation that I don’t need anything, they gave up immediately and respectfully showed there were no serious expectations of being successful in their offering or begging. Mostly it was only an attempt to get a foreigner’s attention.

I exchanged money at the black market, hidden behind main street stores to avoid being disturbed by police or army. Black market exchange rate is 50% higher than official, so everything becomes even cheaper. It is quite a relief after expensive Congos.

It was a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, I was tired of all the hassle and bustle. I found a quiet retreat in Jardin Public – fenced public garden, with weddings, families relaxing on the grass and boys playing basketball. I met a girl named Patience – what a perfect name to fit into African environment. Her English was good, her knowledge about the general situation excellent and she provided me with a lot of useful information about Burundi.

It was getting late and I decided to walk back to my hotel. There is no public illumination in Bujumbura and I didn’t bring my regular glasses with me, therefore I was forced to use prescription sunglasses. I was walking along the main street when, out of the blue, I lost the ground under my feet.

I fell into a deep hole, injured my knees, started to bleed slightly from my hands, but in general I was OK.

There was nobody close enough to notice my stretching in the dark, so I stood up and continued to the hotel as if nothing had happened. I was scared to death, but also relieved that no serious injury happened on my first day in Burundi.

Bujumbura is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which is divided between Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia. This African Great Lake is the second largest by volume and the second deepest in the world (1,470m). I walked to Zion Beach and disappointedly realized that the beach is gone, while the restaurant is too pricey.

I returned back to the center to meet Patience and her brother, who would join me to explore the northern coast of Lake Tanganyika. The area is full of hotels, bars and restaurants along the sandy coast of the lake. Rough water with solid waves was not appealing to swim, but fish in a beach restaurant was good and the view was refreshing.

Rusizi National park is located only 15 kilometers west of Bujumbura on the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika on the road to DR Congo. In the last part of Rusizi river, which is connecting Kivu lake in the north with Lake Tanganyika, it is easy to spot families of hippopotamus and various groups of crocodiles.

I hired a boat after long negotiations with a park ranger and navigated Rusizi river to the mouth of the lake, where dark chocolate water starts mixing with the transparent lake. Fishermen on simple canoes were rowing among leaves and cane, floating on the surface, while throwing nets or checking if any fishes were caught on the bait. I saw three families of hippopotamus, resting in the shallow islands on the river banks.

Some of the big hippos were yawning to display their jaws and long, sharp teeth. Maybe they felt threaten or were just showing up in front of others who were hardly displaying their heads above the water. I was not lucky enough to see crocodiles, but I spotted some interesting bird species.

More in theory than in practice, the government wants to move its administration to Gitega in order to decentralize fast growing Bujumbura. Beside the central market, and a few simple monuments, there is a small, but well-organized Museum of Gitega, that offered me an English-speaking guide to understand better the exhibition about local life, culture and history.

As soon as I started touring around the museum, a group of three Americans with a guide and a personal driver arrived. After a desperate intent to visit Gishora the previous day and struggling to convince the drummers to perform only for me, joining this small group, was probably the only option to attend the concert.

During the visit to the museum, I agreed with the Americans, that I can join them, but need to find my own transport to Gitega. After a short negotiation, a compromise at fair price with a moto-taxi was sealed; I jumped on the backside of a comfortable seat and enjoyed the ride on a perfect road through the countryside. I arrived before the other group. It was my lucky day!

Attending a performance of eminent drummers is probably the most outstanding experience in Burundi.

They train in various places around the country, but the most authentic group comes from a village of Gishora, 10 kilometers outside of Gitega, the second capital city.

The first part of visiting Gishora village was an explanation about this historic village, where the last powerful Burundian king was hiding from German colonialists for 9 months. The king house, kitchen and warehouse are constructed with straws, sticks and grass, protected by fence.

During a drumming performance that lasted for half an hour, more than 20 drummers were hitting strongly on their drums, dancing, jumping high, performing different movements and constantly circling around their necks with sticks. The toughest part was walking, carrying heavy drums on their heads and playing at the same time.

Every individual showed his skills by jumping as high as conceivable, bending the knees and staying in the air as much time as possible. Even the leader of the orchestra, a 74 years old chief, was still in excellent shape, confirming that they constantly train playing with dancing, while in free time work hard on the surrounding fields as farmers.

In the afternoon, I visited Batwa village, where the East African pygmy tribe lives.

Indigenous people are recognized as the oldest occupant of African tropical forests that cover almost all of Central Africa.

They represent a small minority with 2% of total population, but are well known for avoiding integration in a modern life. Many children don’t attend school, live in remotely located communities and don’t mix with others.

As soon as I arrived to the community, a group of kids and women gathered around me. Since no French was spoken, my local guide was translating all communication. They would do anything to survive and avoid hunger. Very basic houses were surrounded by banana and cassava plants, kids were roasting maize on a fire. Many were barefoot, wearing basic and dirty cloths. They produce big clay bowls, which are sold on a local market or traded for food.

When asked what they can do or show to me, they started to sing, clap their hands and dance. The performance was not planned as with the drummers before, but very intensive and full of energy. Young women were taking initiative, while men were more reserved, mostly observing from a distance.

Albeit I was just about to leave the village, official representatives came and started to explain that we should have followed the formal procedure, register with the chief first, get a permission and pay to them directly instead of communicating directly to the villagers. We will obey the formal rules next time!

Rutana is rather a big village than a small town, stretched around a hilly countryside in the southern part of Burundi. It wasn’t easy to reach it and even more difficult to plan a trip to neighboring waterfalls of Karera and Nyakazu Canyon. The lack of petrol was so serious that no vehicles were leaving toward Bujumbura or Gitega on that afternoon. The only option to move around was by moto-taxi, which I actually prefer for short distances.

I quickly agreed about the route and commercial details with a local guy, Alex, conditioning to supply me with a helmet. He even spoke decent English and guaranteed me being familiar with the route, destination and distance, to avoid any misunderstanding at the end of the trip.

The first part on the paved road was easy, nevertheless, sporadic potholes could be a serious threat if not paying attention. After half an hour we turned off to a dirt road toward Chutes de la Karera waterfalls. Passing manioc fields, vegetable and banana plantations, I realized that farmers don’t use any machines to cultivate land. Very basic hoe is pretty much the only tool they carry when going for work, either barefoot, in sandals or worn-out shoes.

Many of them showed their surprise of seeing a white stranger passing by and therefore saluting, smiling or just calling me muzungo. The happiness was mutual and people really seem having fun and interest in interacting with me for a few seconds.

Chutes de Karera waterfalls fall over the rocks in five stages that can be observed from three platforms and recently built hanging bridge.

At the end of the rainy season, the amount of water is still substantial, while visitors are scarce. Remote location through bad road and pricey tickets for Burundian standards take the toll (20.00US$).

The second part of my trip lead from the section of Karera waterfalls to Nyakazu Canyon. 22 kilometers, with some parts that were in extremely bad conditions, where sharp rocks could cause at least a flat tire at any time.

I cannot imagine what we would do with a technical issue on a motorbike in the middle of nowhere, where people were much more random than in the first section. Tired, dirty and thirsty, we arrived to Nykazu after almost an hour of driving.

I didn’t even know what to expect exactly, but with so little sightseeing in Burundi, I didn’t want to miss this one. Walking to the edge of the cliff, I realized that I reached a wonderful canyon where historically all kind of authorities were settling down to supervise the surrounding valleys and neighboring country of Tanzania: first the king of Burundi, then Germans and Belgians left their footprints, while new era tourists are few.

Observing the canyon and falling water over a hundred meters to the river basin that has been overgrown with plants and tropical trees, I heard a pleasant singing.

A young local boy was standing on the edge of the cliff and passionately singing a Burundian song. How beautiful – serene.

One more time it was proved that amazingly rewarding moments can happen in Burundi. A few minutes later a group of kids came out of nowhere. We had a pleasant conversation, I took a few photos and started a long trip back to Rutana. What a wonderful day!

The landlocked tiny country of Burundi has never had high priority on my bucket list of destinations to visit. The country has been rather described as a dangerous, better to avoid or no go by Western embassies in the last decade. No game watching, gorilla trekking, beaches or other well promoted tourist attractions.

Besides that, I was a little bit afraid of what to expect from people, after being quite roughly treated by Congolese.

HOW WRONG I WAS! Burundi is by far a highlight of my trip in Central Africa so far. Friendly people, willing to help, honest, showing real interest in this Slovenian muzungo – foreigner.

It was not easy to travel around one of the poorest countries in the world, when there is lack of petrol or sugar. But somehow, it always worked out, mostly with moto-taxi to very remote areas. Every day was a new adventure, meeting new people, drumming performance, singer on top of the cliff in Nyakazu, improvised dance in pygmy village or being invited to a home of local women carrying water for kilometers.

Let’s face it: life in Burundi is extremely harsh for the big majority of people. Kids still die of hunger, living conditions are sometimes inhuman, people work mostly manually and struggle to earn enough for food.

However, they are not frustrated by stupidities that we (rich people) are. They are positive and fighting for a better future.

Thanks Burundi. You will stay in my heart forever!