Bujumbura
Burundi’s largest city and busiest port, spread along the head of Lake Tanganyika where the Ruzizi flows in, with hippo country to the north and Livingstone’s rock to the south.
- Arrival
- Melchior Ndadaye International · BJM
- To the city
- About 6 km from the airport
- Private jets
- BJM, open 24 hours, 3,600 m runway
- Best time
- June to September
The city
At the head of the lake.
Bujumbura began as a German military post in 1889 and grew into the main port on Lake Tanganyika, the second-deepest lake in the world, loading Burundi’s coffee, cotton and tin. Gitega became the political capital in 2019, but the business of the country, and some 1.1 million people in the urban area, remain here at 774 metres, between the water and the hills.
Afternoons stay close to 27 °C all year and the seasons are set by the rain. June to September is the dry season, with July almost rainless, while November to April brings 140 mm and more each month.
- Livingstone–Stanley Monument A rock at Mugere, about 12 km south above the lake, inscribed with 25 November 1871, when the two explorers stopped here for two nights.
- Rusizi National Park About ninety square kilometres of river delta just north of the city, set aside in 1980 for hippos, sitatunga and birds.
- Lake Tanganyika The long shore that the city faces, with beaches and boat trips leaving from the lakeside hotels.
Arriving
A long runway by the lake.
Melchior Ndadaye International, opened in 1952 and renamed in 2019, lies on the northern edge of the city, about six kilometres from the centre. Its single runway is 3,600 metres long.
- Kigali 35 min
- Nairobi 1 h 30
- Accra 4 h 45
- Lisbon 8 h 15 long-range jet
- Bangkok 10 h 45 long-range jet
When to go
June to September.
Warm and humid at the lake’s edge, with highs between 27 and 29 °C in every month. The dry season runs from June to September; the rest of the year is wet, with peaks in March and April and again in November.
- 27° J 166
- 27° F 140
- 27° M 170
- 27° A 196
- 27° M 103
- 27° J 18
- 27° J 6
- 28° A 23
- 29° S 75
- 28° O 113
- 27° N 174
- 27° D 164
Where to stay
By the lake and in Kiriri.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Hôtel Club du Lac Tanganyika Its own sand on the lake, two pools, a spa and a terrace over the water, a few minutes from the runway.
- Hotel Belair Résidence A small hotel of thirty rooms, several of them looking down to the lake, with a pool, spa and sauna.
- Kiriri Garden Hotel Placed in the four-star tier when the government graded the country’s hotels in 2019.
- Roca Golf Hotel Another of the city’s four-star addresses under the 2019 national grading.
Elsewhere in Burundi
More reasons to come.
Flying to Bujumbura?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.