Burkina Faso

城市概覽

Literally meaning the Land of the Upright Men, Burkina Faso, a landlocked country, comprises an area of 274,400 km2 and is surrounded by six countries. It was known as Upper Volta from 1919 to 1984.

History 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.

The Sankara years The country became independent in the 1960s and was renamed to Burkina Faso in the 1980s. In the early 1980s, Thomas Sankara, commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevera", initiated some highly ambitious campaigns for social and economic changes, many of which are considered to be some of the most ambitious campaigns ever launched in post-colonial Africa. His government was successful in outlawing forced marriages and polygamy, encouraging women to participate in the government, increasing school attendance, combatting corruption, and reducing the overall infant mortality rate. On the other hand, his policies antagonised the small but powerful Burkinabé middle class, and tribal leaders were stripped of numerous benefits and privileges. International organisations such as Amnesty International have alleged that Sankara's government curtailed dissent and engaged in extrajudicial killings. In 1987, almost three years into Sankara's presidency, Blaise Compaoré (Sankara's colleague) and twelve other officers staged a coup d'état against Thomas Sankara's government and executed Sankara in cold blood.

The Compaoré years Following the 1987 coup, Compaoré became the country's president and immediately overturned all of Sankara's policies. Compaoré's administration received little to none of the support and praise it had been expected to receive from

如何抵達

Visa A passport and a visa are required to enter Burkina Faso. You generally should obtain your visa in advance, although European Union citizens can obtain visas upon arrival at the airport (CFA10,000). French citizens now require to get a visa in advance at €70 for one entry. If you are not from the European Union, the cost of a 3-month, single entry visa is CFA28,300 and must be acquired in advance of your journey. The Burkina Faso embassy in Washington offers six-month, multiple-entry visas for US$100. If coming by land, EU citizens are able to get a seven-day single entry visa for CFA10,000 at the border. As of July 2010, at the border with Ghana at Paga, they increased the price to CFA94,000, payable in cash (and the exchange rate offered at the border was 10-20% lower than market rates). No passport photos were required. They only were able to issue a 90-day visa. 2 passport photos and a yellow fever certificate are required (border crossing at Paga, in July 2010, did not ask for yellow fever certificate). Border police said that CFA10,000 visas were still available, but back in Accra. Border police also said that the 90-day visa was convertible at no cost to a 5-year visa for a US passport in Ouagadougou. Visas may be extended to 3 months multiple entry at the Bureau de Sureté de l'Etat which can be found in most major cities. To get the extension you should arrive before 09:00 (again with 2 passport photographs) and collect your passport again that afternoon. Upon arrival, you may be asked to prove you've been vaccinated against Yellow Fever if you are travelling from within Africa. Failure to provide proof may result in either being forced to receive the vaccination at the airport, for a fee, or be refused entry into the country.

At the Burkina Faso embassy in Bamako, Mali, a 30-day visa costs CFA 25,000 = US$45 At the Burkina Faso embassy in Accra, Ghana, a 30-day visa costs GHS 146 = US$30 and you get it on the same day. You need two passport photos

當地交通

There are buses and vans (cars) to Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Togo. There is a train service for the Abidjan-Banfora-Bobo-Ouaga route. Hitchhiking is not common. Rent a bike (~ CFA3000) or a moto (~ CFA6,000) to get around locally.

By car Even wealthy Burkinabé who own cars do not use them to travel between major cities, but opt for buses instead. The major routes between Ouagadougou and other cities are in good condition; taxi drivers can be erratic.

必看景點

Burkina Faso, despite being poor, has an indescribably rich culture. Its highlights include spiritual mask dances, mud mosques, Tuareg traders, an extraordinary music and cinema scene, thousand-year-old ruins and remote communities that follow animistic beliefs. Laongo is home to a variety of sculptures by local and international artists. The park's scattered pieces of granite have been transformed into beautiful works of art. The Sindou Peaks in Banfora consists of a narrow chain of soft rock that over the years has been eroded into unusual rock formations.

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 Artes (FESTIMA; Arts & Masks Festival)—Dedougou; March of even-numbered years; Hundreds of troupes of mask dancers from across West Africa perform. Festival Panafricain du Cinema (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 National de la Culture (National Culture Week)—Bobo; March/April; music, dance, theater, and masquerades fill the air this week in Bobo

體驗活動

Starting in Gorom Gorom, you can take a camel ride out into the desert and even sleep out there on the sand. Guides can arrange this for you from Gorom Gorom and it can be expensive if you do not pick your guides carefully. Take warm clothes and good blankets if you plan to sleep in the desert. Women should bring trousers to wear on camels because skirts (especially African pagnes) tend to fall open due to the shape of the saddle.

There is a beautiful hike alongside the waterfalls outside of Banfora. The admission price is one or two thousand francs. Be careful not to spend too much time in the water: tourists occasionally catch bilharzia, also known as Schistosomiasis, from swimming in the falls. The locals will tell you that swimming will not make you sick, but it can. Also near Banfora is a lake (more of a pond, actually) where you can take a trip out on a pirogue to see the hippos. Do not expect too much. Often all you see of the hippos is ears sticking up out of the water. Remember, hippos are dangerous animals who do not like being bumped by pirogues that get too close, so