Burundi is a very small landlocked country at the heart of the African continent, at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Africa.

Located in the Great Lakes region, Burundi hosts the second largest African lake after Victoria and the second deepest in the world after Lake Baikal in Russia. This is Lake Tanganyaka, which marks 160 kilometres of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its waters are particularly rich in fish. Water cobras, crocodiles and hippos also enjoy it. Its sandy coasts with beautiful beaches on the Bujumbura side, to the northeast, are followed by rocky coasts on its southern part. Burundi has eight other lakes of varying size, concentrated more particularly in the northern part of the country. These include Lake Rwihanda, also known as Bird Lake for its rich birdlife, Cohoha, Rweru, shared with Rwanda, and Kanzigiri. These lakes are part of the catchment area of the Nile River whose upper reaches cross the country. With a pastoral and agricultural landscape of which numerous tea plantations in the east, Burundi presents a vegetation of grassy and wooded savannas where eucalyptus, acacias and oil palms flourish. The forests once covered vast areas; decimated, they are now limited to the protected enclosures of national parks and nature reserves of the country where find refuge elephants, leopards, warthogs, antelopes, monkeys, galagos... The Kibira National Park, which covers nearly 40,000 hectares in the north-west, is the largest natural region still intact in Burundi. Located on the Congo-Nile ridge, it has 180 km of trails that can easily be walked but only on foot. Rusizy Park is located near the Congolese border and the Burundian capital Bujumbara. Between palm groves and swampy areas, it is the landmark of hippos: nineteen species are listed. To the south-east, the Kaera and Nyakazu falls, surrounded by mountains and forests, offer a rather grandiose spectacle especially when the sun makes unexpected rainbows appear. Burundi has some 9.8 million inhabitants, 93 of whom are herders and farmers; 500,000 people live in Bujumbara, the capital. Founded by the Germans, it extends in width between Lake Tanganyaka and the Mumirwa Mountains. Bujumbara, or Buja as the Burundians call it, is a young and very active city. It's also a green city... without buildings. Former royal capital, Gitega is the second largest city of the country and especially the cradle of the famous sacred drums of Burundi . Although south of Ecuador, Burundi is not very hot. Country located on a plateau, its equatorial climate is tempered by altitude. The average annual temperature is 21.1°C. The dry season, which runs from May to August, is the best time to stay in Burundi. The country has been marked by decades of tension between the Hutu and Tutsi communities, which became a bloodbath, particularly in the early 1990s when the civil war raging in neighbouring Rwanda spread throughout the country. Since the mid-2000s, national reconciliation has been the norm in Burundi, where many refugees and asylum seekers are now living in camps. Burundi is a country with an exceptionally rich nature and an astonishing culture of which the famous sacred drums are the main showcase. A destination still little known, Burundi is a country that has much to offer: its mythical Lake Tanganyaka, its splendid bird lakes, its hills and valleys, its wild savannah, its enigmatic forests and above all a fabulous welcome from its inhabitants.

Art and culture in Burundi
The reputation of Burundi's drums has spread far beyond the country's borders. The famous Royal-Tambour du Burundi has been performing for over forty years and widely promotes this Burundian cultural heritage. The drummers form a group of twenty people who enter the stage with their instrument on their heads. They are arranged in an arc around a central drum that gives the signal. The solo drummer performs a dance where fantasy and gravity mingle, whose warlike gestures are very significant. Drums are often accompanied by dances such as abtimbo and abanyagasimbo.Gastronomic specialities in Burundi A typical Burundian meal consists of sweet potatoes, corn, peas, manioc, plantain bananas... Meat is eaten rather rarely. We then eat beef and goat skewers or dishes in sauce like Michopo. During the rainy season, Burundians also enjoy roasted insects. On the vegetable side, there are local aubergines lenga-lenga, close to spinach in appearance ; sombe, prepared with finely chopped cassava leaves. Burundians drink impeke, a beer. In an intimate circle, it is served in a unique pot in which each soaks his straw.