Burkina Faso

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Revision as of 09:21, 12 March 2012 by Alyssahcanada (talk | contribs)

West Africa > Burkina Faso
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Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
Information
Language: French
Capital: Ouagadougou
Population: 13.730.258
Currency: CFA Franc BCEAO
Hitchability: <rating country='bf' />
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<map lat="12.614537342262" lng="-1.9447498435687" zoom="5" view="0" float="right" />


Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the south west. Many experienced travellers consider Burkina Faso to be one of the most friendly and inviting countries in Africa. However Burkina Faso is also a very poor country. The official language is French but other languages are spoken more widely, knowledge of Bambara can be useful.


Hitchhiking

It is by all means possible to hitchhike in Burkina Faso, but naturally the experience is pretty different from the one you might have in Europe, North Africa or the Middle East. In Burkina Faso the majority of people who travel do so by bus and there are few cars on the road. However, it won't take to many of the sparse cars passing before someone will stop, usually curious as to why you are standing by the road with your thumb or finger out. When the situation is explained, more often than not, the driver will be happy to help out a traveller and will probably be excited to meet you!

Ouagadougou city center

As with hitching in general, it is better to be outside of the bigger cities, mainly because you will attract a lot of taxis. Getting out of the two sprawling bigger cities (Bobo Dialasso and Ouagadougou) can be a bit of a mission on foot, so it might be worth taking a shared taxi or bus (in Ouaga) a little way along the road. As a traveller, you may be in for some hassle if you stroll past the 10 or 20 bus companies and stations that line the exits of the cities, as they'll wonder why you are walking (and saying "I fancy hitching", even in French) probably won't satisfy them.

A word of warning. Whilst hitching in many countries is a great way to get to the underbelly of a culture and experience some hospitality, in Burkina Faso car drivers tend to be businessmen with a business reason for their trip or or other travellers. (Not to say that both of those won't be wonderful, interesting, generous people but rather that you might not get the random cross section of society that you're used to).

The biggest roads in Burkina are generally pretty well maintained, promptly repaired after the rainy season, particularly the route between Bobo-Dialaso and Ouagadougou.

Most Burkinabe you encounter will speak at least some French and some people will speak English.

Hospitality

While hitching in Burkina, hitchwiki user jim_e99 did not receive any offers of a place to stay, in about 6 lifts. It is probably worth asking people, because hospitality is pretty engrained in Burkinabe culture. Alternatively, several great Couchsurfers exist in Ouagadougou and a handful in Bobo. On the other hand, during one month of moving through various parts of the country, Alyssa was often offered a place to sleep, both by drivers of hitched rides and while walking through villages. In all cases the people were well intentioned and happy to help out a foreigner.