Bucket List Places You Must Visit In Burkina Faso

Thinking about visiting Burkina Faso? Watch this video to see bucket list places you must visit on your trip. Burkina Faso is one of the friendliest and, until recently, one of the safest, countries in all of Africa. Although it receives only a small number of tourists per year, it is an excellent destination for anyone interested in seeing a beautiful West African country and exploring African culture and music.

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Until the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated by the empire-building Mossi. The French arrived and claimed the area in 1896, but Mossi resistance ended only with the capture of their capital Ouagadougou in 1901. The colony of Upper Volta was established in 1919, but it was dismembered and reconstituted several times until the present borders were recognized in 1947.

Burkina Faso's seventeen million people belong to two major West African cultural groups—the Voltaic and the Mande (whose common language is Dioula). People from Burkina Faso are called Burkinabé. The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from Ghana and established an empire that lasted more than 800 years. Predominantly farmers, the Mossi kingdom is still led by the Mogho Naba, whose court is in Ouagadougou.

While over 60 ethnic groups (and just as many languages) can be found in Burkina, the country may also be divided into these primary ethnic regions:

Touareg: Extreme north

Peul/Fulani: Far north, just south of the Tourags

Gourmantché: East

Mossi: Central plateau centred around Ouagadougou and stretching north to Ouahigouya and south to the Ghanaian border

Gourounsi: Southern Burkina Faso between Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso

Lobi: South-west along the borders with Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

Bobo/Dioula: West centered around Bobo-Dioulasso

Senoufo: Southwest along the borders with Mali and Côte d'Ivoire

Burkina Faso is an ethnically integrated, secular state. Most of Burkina's people are concentrated in the south and centre of the country, sometimes exceeding 48 per square kilometre (125 mi²). Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. These flows of workers are obviously affected by external events; the civil war in Cote d'Ivoire have meant that hundreds of thousands of Burkinabé returned to Burkina Faso. A plurality of Burkinabé are Muslim, but most also adhere to traditional African religions. The introduction of Islam to Burkina Faso was initially resisted by the Mossi rulers. Christians, both Roman Catholics and Protestants, comprise about 25% of the population, with their largest concentration in urban areas.

Cities
- Ouagadougou, also known as Ouaga (pronounced "Wa-Gha"), is the capital city, located in the centre of the country, in the area known as the Mossi Plateau.
- Banfora
- Bobo-Dioulasso — the country's second largest city, located in the southwest.
- Dédougou
- Gaoua — Gaoua is near the Ruins of Loropéni, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Koudougou
- Ouahigouya

Talk
French is the official language; obviously, outside the big cities, most people are not so fluent in French as the city-dwellers. Many African languages of the Sudanic family are widely spoken. The most common language is Mooré. Do not expect to get around with English as in most other parts of the world: West Africa is mainly Francophone, and English is virtually unknown. Among wealthy locals and government/company officials though, only French is spoken, as reverting to Dioula is considered low-class.

Beware that the accent and word use in the French spoken in West Africa is quite different to that spoken in France, and can present difficulties if your French is not very strong.

Festivals
Burkina Faso is the home of music in West Africa.
- Festival International de la Culture Hip Hop (International Festival of Hip Hop Culture)—Ouagadougou & Bobo-Dioulasso; October; Two weeks of Hip Hop performances
- Festival Jazz (Jazz Festival)—Ouaga & Bobo; April/May; Features big names from around the continent
- Festival des Masques et des Arts (FESTIMA; Arts & Masks Festival)—Dédougou; March of even-numbered years; Hundreds of troupes of mask dancers from across West Africa perform.
- Festival Panafricain du Cinéma (FESPACO;Panafrican Film Festival)—Ouaga; Feb/Mar of odd-numbered years; Africa's largest film festival held every other year brings stars and filmmakers from across the continent.
- Semaine Nationale de la Culture (National Culture Week)—Bobo; March/April; music, dance, theatre, & masquerades fill the air this week in Bobo


Did I miss any place? Let me know in the comments below :D

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