Any Travels

Burundi is located right in the heart of Africa, squashed between the East African giant Tanzania in the east and the biggest country of Africa, Congo in the west. In the north there is Rwanda. Although the location is beautiful with the great lakes, the rift valley, but poltically speaking it's a pretty tough spot. Internal strife between Hutu and Tutu people has destabilized the country in the 1990-ies. Permanent instability in big neighbor Congo has not made things better.

However, Burundi has great touristic potential and if you are looking for a place away from the other tourists, this is one.

Bujumbura, the capital is located on the Lake Tangyanika . It is the biggest town of the country amd the best place to arrange things for onward travel. Outside of the capital things are worse, you see.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Burundi due to the uncertain security situation within Burundi and the surrounding Great Lakes region. On the evening of December 4, 2000, two people were injured when a passenger flight was fired upon and hit by machine gun rounds as it was landing at Bujumbura's International Airport. Earlier that same day, a rebel faction released a press statement warning foreigners to leave Burundi for their safety. Burundi has been involved in a civil war since 1993. Fighting can be intense and has increasingly involved attacks on the capital, Bujumbura.

Bujumbura is the capital of Burundi. The city is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika some ten km north of the place where Stanley and Livingston met and where Stanley spoke the famous words "Dr. Livingstone I presume?" With a population of more than 300,000 inhabitants, it's a pretty busy place - or was sindce civil war broke out very few travelers' reports have reached us. The area was colonised by Germany at the end of the 19th century, and there is still architecture dating from that period of Burundi's history, including the Postmaster's House. Other attractions include three museums and the Islamic Cultural Centre. In the good days there are a number of cafes and restaurants along the lake shores. There used to be a colorful market, the best in the country.

In general, 90% of the Burundians live on agriculture. Origins and history of Burundi population are not known. What is certain, though, is that on the arrival of the first white explorers and missionaries, Burundi was an old united Kingdom , and its borders remained almost the same, unlike other African countries in which borders were artificially set by colonisation. It is worth mentioning that Burundi was occupied by Germany at the end of the 19th century before being put under Belgian control after World War I.

There are 3 social groups or groups improperly called "ethnic groups": Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.

Unlike real ethnic groups, Burundians have spoken one and the same unique language - Kirundi - for a long time. They share the same values and live in the same villages. They all live on agriculture combined with livestock. There is no historical or identity reference which distinguishes them. Nevertheless, the Batwa are not well integrated into the social order. They do marry among their own families and don’t like to practice agriculture. In some areas, they are even disappearing.

Despite the cultural, territorial and administrative unity of the Burundi people, their recent history has been characterised by tribal wars between Hutu and Tutsi, the height of which was reached in 1993.