Burundi Safari Guide- Authentic Guide

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Location of Burundi

The  Republic  of  Burundi  is  a  small  (27,834 km²),  landlocked country located in eastern Africa, on the eastern arm of the western Albertine Rift Valley. It is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Lake Tanganyika to the west, Rwanda in the north and Tanzania to the east and south. It stretches 232 km from  north  to  south  between  latitudes  02°45’S  and  04°28’S,  and 203 km from west to east between longitudes 28°50’E and 30°54’E.

Burundi is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with over 300 inhabitants/km² in some areas. The population was estimated to be 5.9 million during the mid-1990s. With an annual growth-rate of 3.2% per annum, the population is predicted to reach 13.7 million by 2020. The capital is Bujumbura, located in the west of  the  country,  at  the  north-eastern  tip  of  Lake  Tanganyika. Administratively, the country is divided into 15 provinces.

Down the western side of the country lies the mountains which form the Congo–Nile divide. They consist of a series of elongated ridges and include many massifs above 2,500 m as well as the highest peaks  in  the  country  (Mont  Teza,  2,665 m  and  Mont  Heha, 2,670 m).  Westwards,  the  land  descends  steeply  some  1,500 m  to meet, in the south, Lake Tanganyika or, further north, the Rusizi river, which forms the international frontier with DR Congo. The Rusizi  and  the  northern  margins  of  Lake  Tanganyika  lie  in  the narrow Imbo plain at altitudes of between 774–950 m, and are the lowest-lying part of the country. The eastern slopes of the Congo– Nile massif merge into the Central Plateau at around 2,100 m. The Central Plateau covers the whole of the centre of the country and, generally, slopes from west to east and from north to south. The average  altitude  of  the  plateau  is  c.1,450 m.

Burundi Vegetation Cover

It  is  estimated  that  between  a  third  and  a  half  of  Burundi  was originally  covered  in  montane  forest,  mostly  along  the  western highlands. These forests have been relentlessly attacked by man for timber and for land for agriculture. Two major montane forest blocks remain;  Bururi  in  the  south  and  Kibira  in  the  north.  Kibira  is
contiguous  with  Nyungwe  forest  in  Rwanda.  One  small  patch (800 ha) of lower-altitude, closed forest survives at Kigwena, along the banks of Lake Tanganyika.

This is one of the easternmost patches of Guineo–Congolean rain forest and thus is of special interest. Burundi possesses extensive wetlands. The total area of marshland is  more  than  120,000 ha,  almost  5%  of  the  area  of  the  country.  However,  a  large  part  of  this  has  already  been drained for agriculture. There are also a number of small lakes in the  mountains  as  well  as  four  substantial  ones,  including  Lake Tanganyika, about 8% of the surface of which occurs in Burundi.

Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika, the second-deepest lake in the world, contains an exceptional fauna, with more than 300 species of fish, 90% of which are endemic.  Phragmites  swamps are found in the Rusizi valley at the northern end of Lake Tanganyika. Swamps of papyrus  Cyperus papyrus  also occur here but are common in the north and east of the
country