Bouaké
Ivory Coast · Africa
About Bouaké
Bouaké (or Bwake, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́) is the second-largest city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivision—Vallée du Bandama District, Gbêkê Region, and Bouaké Department. The city is located in the central part of Ivory Coast about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Lake Kossou, the country's largest lake. It is approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of Abidjan on the Abidjan-Niger Railway and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Yamoussoukro, the capital of the country.
For the name of the city Bouaké, there are two possible origins:
The corruption of the chief name Kwa Gbéké that made the foundations of the city of Bouaké.
The name Bouaké coming from two Baoulé words: "Boua" which means sheep and "Ké" which means dry. Thus it is the place where sheep are dried, as they would have seen Jula drying sheep skins when they arrived in Bouaké.
In the 1800s a group related to the Akan, the Assabou and Baoulé settled in the vicinity of where Bouaké was, initially the village was named Gbèkèkro, so named after the leader of the Baoulé, Gossan Kwa Gbeke and kro meaning town...
Bouaké travel guide
Getting there
By train There are a few trains each week from Abidjan on their way to Ouagadougou and back but timetabling is pretty hit and miss.
1 Bouaké railway station (Gare de Bouaké). (updated Jul 2020)
By car It takes 1.5 hours from Yamoussoukro. The road has deep potholes so care is needed. It would be wise not to try it at night because of the potholes.
See
1 St. Teresa of Infant Jesus Cathedral (Cathédrale Sainte-Thérèse de Bouaké). Seat of the archdiose, this cathedral is constructed in a brutalist architectural style. (updated Jul 2020)
Sleep
1 Hôtel du Stade (Next to the football stadium), ☏ +225 04 77 03 77. (updated Dec 2016) 2 Ran Hôtel (Next to the railway station), ☏ +225 3163-2016. 3 Hotel AHO, ☏ +225 31 63 50 78. Clean and comfortable hotel/guest house. Good wifi. Air conditioned rooms. XOF 21,000. (updated Feb 2017)
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.