Our Burundi holidays & tours
In the highlands of central Africa lies the tiny republic of Burundi, where you’ll find traditional culture amongst lush forests and protected national parks. Our Burundi holidays and Burundi tours explore a country that’s awash with lakes, waterfalls and tea plantations; start with lively Bujumbura and end with unbelievable sunsets over Lake Tanganika. By employing local guides from disenfranchised communities our holidays help spread the benefits of tourism wide, whether you’re taking to a dugout canoe to birdwatch on Lake Rwihinda or on a nature walk, tracking chimpanzees and baboons. Our trips also help encourage the development of wildlife tourism in the country’s under-visited national parks.
Our top trip
Burundi holiday
A cultural journey through the heart of Africa
From
£2345
8 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2026: 7 Jan, 8 Jul
2027: 6 Jan, 7 Jul
2026: 7 Jan, 8 Jul
2027: 6 Jan, 7 Jul
Contact Us
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01273 823 700
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Burundi map & highlights
Heart-shaped – hence its nickname ‘the heart of Africa’ – at first glance it would seem that every inch of Burundi is farmed. Little fields break up even the steepest hillsides. Yet forest prevails in the high mountains on the Congo-Nile divide, whilst the east of the country is a savannah region, where you’ll find Ruvubu National Park. There are also several important bodies of water. Most of Burundi’s western border, including its largest city and important port, Bujumbura, runs along the bank of massive Lake Tanganyika. Lake Rweru, and the Ruzizi, Ruvubu and Ruvyironza rivers add to the hippo- and bird-rich areas of wetland. The capital was moved to the central city of Gitega in 2019.
1.
Bujumbura
2. Gitega
3. Lake Tanganyika
4. Lake Rwihinda Natural Reserve
5. Teza tea plantation
6. Rusizi National Park
2. Gitega
3. Lake Tanganyika
4. Lake Rwihinda Natural Reserve
5. Teza tea plantation
6. Rusizi National Park
Bujumbura
1. Bujumbura
The biggest city in the country, its economic capital, and a vital port on Lake Tanganyika, Bujumbura is where most travellers stay for at least some of their time in the country. The city, known locally as ‘Buja’, lies in easy reach of tea and coffee plantations. The idyllic lakeshore is even closer, so you can dine each night on fresh barbecued fish and enjoy sunset views across the water.
Gitega
2. Gitega
Burundi’s capital as of 2019, and its second largest city, Gitega was the seat of the Kingdom of Burundi. It is still the headquarters of Burundi’s royal drums. Travellers need to book well in advance to see the drumming performances, which start with the massive drums carried in on the performers’ heads, and mix folklore and stories with acrobatics and a good deal of showmanship.
Lake Tanganyika
3. Lake Tanganyika
Holding 16 percent of the world’s fresh water, Lake Tanganyika is the second-deepest lake in the world. Swimming isn’t advised, due to crocodiles and water-borne diseases, but eating fish and chips on the bank certainly is. Mukeke – a type of perch – is endemic to the lake and a very popular local dish. There are resorts along the lakeshore and sandy beaches not far from Bujumbura.
Lake Rwihinda Natural Reserve
4. Lake Rwihinda Natural Reserve
The north of Kirundo province, near the Rwandan border, is speckled with lakes, and they’re important for migrating birds. So much so that one, Lake Rwihinda, was previously known as ‘Bird Lake’. Slipping into a dugout canoe, you can nudge towards the lake’s unusual floating islands of peat, where birds nest and feed, looking out for cormorants, darters, herons and egrets.
Teza tea plantation
5. Teza tea plantation
If Burundi has a pleasant climate, then Teza tea plantation, set in the rolling hills, has a blissful one. Tea, Burundi’s second-largest export after coffee, is grown at high altitude – leading to some pretty settings and cool climes. The plantations jostle around the last remaining slice of Kibira forest, a skinny vestigial piece of montane forest that joins to Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda and is home to chimpanzees.
Rusizi National Park
6. Rusizi National Park
The brown waters of the River Rusizi bleed into blue Lake Tanganyika, but before they do, they wind and braid through banks of tall hippo grass hiding – you guessed it – huge hippopotamuses, but also Nile crocodiles, birds, and water-loving Sitatunga antelope, who wade deep on their wide marshland-adapted hooves. The park was once terrorised by a crocodile called Gustave – now presumed dead – who was said to have killed 300 people.
Our Burundi holidays reviews
4
1Burundi holidays reviews
Anne Higgins17 Jul 2024
The drummers in Gishora and dancers just outside Kirundo. Excellent guide and driver. read more
