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Burundi is often called the “heart of Africa” as well as the “Switzerland of Africa” with the mountains, hills and valleys to make this a truly spectacular country to visit. As well Burundi is called the Land of the Thousand Hills. Bujumbura At the northeast corner of Lake Tanganyika, Bujumbura is a cute little town with about 300,000 residents. The town was founded by the Germans in 1896 and flying over it you can see the impact of the lake on the make up of the city with a greenness that has not yet capitulated to the invasion of concrete. The most interesting spots to visit are the Musé Vivant, the beaches, the Mausolée de Vugizo, the Monument de l'Unité and the Campus Kiriri. Gitega Second only to Bujumbura, Gitega is situated in the middle of the country at nearly 6,000 feet where the climate is soft and temperate. Gitega is worth visiting for its National Museum where you can admire the Spectacle des Tamourinaires. Source of the Nile As enigmatic as ever, searched for by discoverers and adventurers, the source of the Nile did not reveal itself until recently. To find the real source of the Nile one only has to go to the commune of Rutovu in the province of Bururi to findi it. Not as many think, in Uganda. We must remember that Lake Tanganiyka is a veritable sea of fresh water that laps the shores of four countries, Burundi, Tanzania, Zaïre and Zambia. Lake Tanganiyka is 800 kilometers long and is up to 1,435 meters deep the deepest lake in the world after Lake Baïkal. The Government of Burundi maintains a curfew for Bujumbura, which is currently from midnight to 5:00 a.m. Note that the curfew changes from time to time due to changing security conditions. Please contact your embassy for the most up-to-date curfew information. Visitors and expatriates should establish and maintain contact with their Embassy and consider their own personal safety in determining whether to remain in the country. Burundi is a small, inland African nation that entered a period of instability following the assassination of Burundi's first democratically elected president in 1993. The country entered a three-year period of transition on November 1, 2001, but there has been no formal cessation of hostilities. Facilities for tourism, particularly outside the capital, are limited. The capital is Bujumbura. The official language is French, but Kirundi and Swahili is widely spoken in cities. A passport, visa, and evidence of immunization against yellow fever are required. Only those travelers resident in countries where there is no Burundian embassy are eligible for entry stamps, without a visa, at the airport upon arrival. These entry stamps are not a substitute for a visa, which must be obtained from the Burundi Immigration Service within twenty-four hours of arrival. Travelers without a visa are not permitted to leave the country. Street crime in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, poses a high risk for visitors. Crime includes muggings, purse-snatching, pick-pocketing, burglary, auto break-ins, and auto-hijackings, including during daylight hours. Criminals operate individually or in small groups. There have been reports of muggings of persons jogging or walking alone in all sections of Bujumbura, and especially on public roads bordering Lake Tanganyika. For the last several years, expatriate employees of several international non-governmental organizations have occasionally become the victims of armed robberies in their offices, homes, and on the road. Medical facilities are very limited in Burundi. Medicines and prescription drugs are in short supply, if not completely unavailable. Sterility of equipment is questionable, and treatment is unreliable. Most people go to hospital to die. Traffic Safety and Road Conditions The information below concerning driving in Burundi is provided for general reference only, and it may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance. Safety of Public Transportation: Poor/Not Recommended Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor Availability of Roadside Assistance: Non-existent Drivers without drivers' licenses, and the ease with which a driver's license can be acquired without training, make Burundian drivers less than careful, considerate, or predictable. There are no traffic signals or signs in Bujumbura, and virtually nothing of the kind elsewhere in the country. Roadways are not marked, and the lack of streetlights and shoulders make driving in the countryside at night especially dangerous. Additionally, drivers may encounter cyclists, pedestrians, and livestock in the roadway, including in and around the capital, Bujumbura. Mini-vans used as buses for 18 persons, which stop and start abruptly, and often without pulling to the side of the road, should be given a wide berth. Big holes or damaged portions of roadway may be encountered anywhere in the country, including in and around the capital; when driving in the countryside, it is recommended that travelers carry multiple spare tires. Service stations are rare outside of major cities. During the rainy season, many side roads are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles. Travelers may be stopped at police roadblocks throughout the country, or shot at and stopped by rebels or bandits. Third-party insurance is required, and it will cover any damages (material, injury, or death). If you are found to have caused an accident, you automatically will be fined 10,000 Burundian francs (approximately $10 U.S.) and your driver's license will be confiscated until the police investigation is completed. Although the law provides for the arrest of drunk drivers, in practice, the police do not consider drunk driving a crime. In the city of Bujumbura, the number for police assistance is 223777; there is no comparable number outside the capital. If you are involved in an accident causing death, it is advised that you leave the scene of the accident and proceed to the nearest police station. In most cases, other drivers will assist As a result of the attack on a Sabena passenger flight at night and the danger of attack on the road to and from the airport at night because of the ongoing conflict between government and rebel forces in Burundi, most sane people prefer to fly during daylight hours. As there is no direct commercial air service at present, nor economic authority to operate such service between Europe and Burundi, the FAA has not assessed the Burundian Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with international aviation safety standards for oversight of Burundi's air carrier operations. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than at homefor similar offenses. Persons violating Burundian law, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Burundi are strict, and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines. There’s not much in the way of hotels in Burundi but here are some that may be up and running for your visit: Ubuntu Telephone Tel 257 24 4065 Fax 257 24 4066 -Wake up to a beautiful view of the lake every morning Botanika Telephone 257 22 6792 Fax 257 25 0146 -Central in Town and very good food, 7 rooms. Novotel Telephone 22 2600 Fax 22 2692 Probably the best in Burundi with 117 rooms and the bar to be seen in but watch the curfew. Source of the Nile Tel 22 5222 Fax 22 5205 Mediocre and going down hill Burundi Palace Telephone 22 2920 Lots of local hookers and more. 48 rooms. Archaic and expensive. There is a new cellular project taking place but this may be delayed because of the fighting. Send a note by foot or bicycle if it’s really important. Most news takes place at the bar. There are rental accommodations available and prices are reasonable given the number of expatriates that have left the country recently. $1,000 per month will yield you some of the best in town with perhaps water that works. Not a telephone though. There is the Belgian school in and some expatriate’s children are attending. There are schools in Uganda and Kenya that offer good primary and secondry education. Please refer to “Useful Country Information” in the Kenya section of this site for details.. Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundian troops, seeking to secure their borders, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step towards holding national elections in three years. However, the unwillingness of the Hutu rebels to enact a cease fire with Bujumbura continues to obstruct prospects for a sustainable peace. Equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January. Hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains. nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower. landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile 6,373,002. Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. Since October 1993 the nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has resulted in the death of more than 200,000 persons and the displacement of about 800,000 others. Only one in four children go to school, and more than one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Foods, medicines, and electricity remain in short supply. Doubts regarding the sustainability of peace continue to impede development. A Geneva donors' conference in November 2001 brought $800 million in pledges, and an IMF-staff-monitored program could lead to a further agreement in 2002. Burundi remains a dangerous destination. Fighting is at its worst in outlying areas but gunfire is not uncommon on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura. Civilians, the Burundi military and government officials have been targeted, and the presence of a South African peace force has failed to curb hostilities. After eight years of civil war and sporadic peace talks, Burundi entered into a power-sharing agreement in November 2001, brokered by former South African president Nelson Mandela. The agreement saw the then military ruler, Pierre Buyoya, a member of the Tutsi minority, become president of Burundi for a period of 18 months. At the end of this period the presidency is to be passed on to Buyoya's deputy, Hutu leader Domitien Ndayizeye. However, Hutu rebels committed to the overthrow of Buyoya have refused to take part in the agreement. Clashes between the rebels and the Burundi army intensified in April 2002, and thousands of people fled the capital to escape the violence. Thousands more fled in June 2002, after unidentified bombs shelled the city. Meanwhile, refugees have been slowly returning from exile in Tanzania, although 24 were burned to death while trying to do so in January 2002. Ethnic violence is not new to Burundi, one of the most densely populated nations in the world. The Tutsi minority has effectively controlled the country since independence in 1964. Little international protest was raised by the murder of around 200,000 Hutus in 1972 and the flight of another 100,000 to neighbouring countries. Since then, the story has remained the same, with ongoing outbreaks of tribal violence. While the mid-1980s saw a small shift towards power-sharing in Burundi, it also saw a crackdown on the Catholic Church and any other group that showed signs of sympathising with the Hutu majority. After another brutal massacre in 1988 - this one claiming somewhere between 4000 and 24,000 lives - the international community finally applied pressure, leading to multiparty elections in 1993 that were won by a Hutu-dominated party. The celebrations were short-lived, as after only four months in power President Ndadaye was assassinated. Before 1994 had even begun, large-scale ethnic fighting saw more than 100,000 people killed and the escape of 400,000 refugees to Rwanda. Following the death of the new president in 1994, further fighting took place. In the following two years another 100,000 people - mostly Hutus - lost their lives at the hands of the Tutsi army. Today, some 800,000 people, mostly Hutus, are living in Tutsi-controlled camps. An international embargo has been lifted, and five Tutsis have been prosecuted for the assassination of Hutu president Ndadaye, but the situation remains dire. With the Burundi army also involved in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre) and more than 80% of the country's hospital beds taken by AIDS patients, the tiny central African nation has plenty to worry about.
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