Rusizi
Hippos in a river delta at the head of Lake Tanganyika, a protected wetland on the edge of Bujumbura, and the airport a few kilometres away.
- Arrival
- Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye · BJM
- To the park
- About 15 km north of Bujumbura
- Private jets
- Into BJM, open around the clock
- Best time
- June to September
The city
Where the river meets the lake.
The Rusizi runs down from the north and spreads into a delta before it reaches Lake Tanganyika. Since 1980 the land around its lower course and its mouth has been a national park, later enlarged by decree and listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Hippos keep to the delta, the shy sitatunga antelope lives along the river, and migratory birds pass through in season. Bujumbura and its lakeshore hotels are a short drive away. June to September is the dry season, when the tracks are firm and the light over the lake is clear.
- The Rusizi delta Hippos in the channels where the river pours into Lake Tanganyika, and migratory birds on the mudbanks.
- The Rusizi river The river that gives the park its name, and the home of the sitatunga, an antelope at ease in wet ground.
- Lake Tanganyika One of the deepest lakes in the world, with Bujumbura's hotels along its shore.
Arriving
One runway, a few minutes from the delta.
Bujumbura's international airport, the only one in Burundi with a paved runway, lies eight kilometres from the city centre and a few kilometres from the park.
- Kigali 35 min
- Nairobi 1 h 30
- Cape Town 5 h 00
- Doha 5 h 30
- Madrid 7 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
June to September.
Warm and humid on the lakeshore, with highs in the high twenties all year. The long dry season runs from June to September; the rest of the year is wet, with the heaviest rain in March and April.
- 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
Bujumbura, by the lake and in the hills.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika One of three hotels graded five-star in Burundi's 2019 classification: 110 rooms on the Chaussée d'Uvira, on the shore of the lake.
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Hotel Belair Résidence Thirty rooms in the Kiriri district, some with balconies over the city or the lake, and a pool, a spa and a sauna.
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Kiriri Garden Hotel Graded four-star in the national classification of 2019.
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Roca Golf Hotel Also on the 2019 list of four-star hotels, in the city.
Elsewhere in Burundi
More reasons to come.
Flying to Rusizi?
Choose how you arrive.
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.