BURKINA FASO – The Trip

Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Burkina Faso is one of the friendliest – and until the late 2010s, one of the safest – countries in all of Africa. Even before the unrest that made travel to the country unsafe, it received only a few tourists per year, and was an excellent destination for anyone interested in seeing a beautiful West African country and exploring African culture and music.
People go en repos from noon until around 15:00. Don’t expect to get much done around this time. Formal businesses are often closed at this time as well.
WARNING: There is widespread civil unrest and extremist activity in the parts of the country to the east and north of the town of Boulsa, and along the border with Mali. Western governments advise against all travel to that area, including to the W National Park. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the rest of the country. In Feb 2020, the north and east and southeast seem to no go areas.
Burkina Faso has 4 “seasons.” The Earlier dry season – September to November; then the mid dry season – December up to February, followed by the late dry season – March to May, and then the wet season – June to September. I advise traveling from November and February, as the weather is generally dry and not very hot, and discourage in the late dry season as well as the beginning of the wet season prior to the rains, as it is extremely hot and extremely uncomfortable.

Visa. You generally should obtain your visa in advance, although European Union citizens can obtain visas upon arrival at the airport (CFA10,000). Available at the Burkina Faso embassy in Bamako or Accra Ghana.
Yellow Fever vaccination
Capital: Ouagadougou
Language. French is the official language and the lingua franca between ethnic groups; however, you will find out that, outside the big cities, most people do not speak much French. Many African languages of the Sudanic family are widely spoken. The most common language is Mooré. Start the day with some Moore (the language of the Mossi).
Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)
Population: 19.1 million
Country Code: +226

BURKINA FASO + MALI Tour (Oct 7-15, 2022)

VISAS – Valid 90 days. Highlight the entry date so the embassy doesn’t issue a 30-day visa. Need a LOI.
Burkina Faso:
1. Visa on Arrival is possible at OUA airport (cost 45,000 CFA cash ATMs at the airport or equivalent in USD or Euros cash at the airport, bring 2 passport size photos, **caution if the flight arrives late or very early so u must wait around for visa office to open.
2. For Canadian passport holders – 10 days turnaround for a single entry tourist visa (cost C$110), complete the form on the website (Ottawa embassy): https://ambabf-ca.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BFA-visa-formulaire.pdf. and send the required doc along with the money.
Burkina Faso hotel: Le Grand Calao. Address: 10 BP 573, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Tel: +22670247422 (http://www.grand-calao.com/ Single room price €60. Double room €75
? Hotel Jean Baptiste ($40/n with breakfast).
Mali:
1. Pre-apply for VOA
2. For Canadian passport holder – Mali: 2 days turnaround for single entry tourist visa (cost C$100), complete form on website (Ottawa embassy for Mali) to download the visa app form: https://www.ambamali.ca/documents/Formulaire.pdf and send required doc along with money. Can apply for the visa starting July.
Mali hotel: Hotel Tamana Hippodrome a Bamako au Mali ($50/n with breakfast)

PRICE: US$1350 pp includes: An english-speaking guide, car and driver, gas, road taxes, and entrance fees. Welcome dinner (day 1) and farewell dinner (day 8). Pay half (US$525 or Euros or CFA)) at the beginning, half at the end.
Excludes: Hotels (about US$40-50/n, pay guide for all 8 nights with cash 320 US$ or CFA upon check-in) and meals (about US$10). Total: US$1800 approx.
US$300 deposit (or EUROS equivalent) by Western Union transfer to: Amadou CISSE. Address: Street 545 door 408. Bamako, Mali. Phone: +223 7886 9073 Email: amadoucisse2009@yahoo.fr
After you complete the Western Union procedure, please WhatsApp Amadou a screenshot or a paper receipt so he can contact u if you have any problems collecting the money. +223 7886 9073

Day 1: Ouagadougou
Day 2: Ouagadougou-Tiebele
Day 3: Ouagadougou-Bobo Dioulasso
Day 4: Bobo Dioulasso-Banfora
Day 5: Bobo Dioulasso-San MALI
Day 6: San-Djenne-Segou
Day 7: Segou-Bamako
Day 8: Bamako-Siby
Day 9: depart Bamako

Observations. I enjoyed BK, it was a refreshing change.
1. BK is a welcome change as it is much different from so much of West Africa. There was a bloodless coup d’etat last week where the army simply replaced the pro-French president. There were few protests other than at the French Embassy and little disruption. However, it was viewed by most Western countries as bad – all flights from Europe were cancelled and two of our group never arrived. Our guides reassured us that there were no security issues. There are frequent minor police checks on every road.
However, the warnings from any expat or ‘official’ agency give level 5 security issues and warn us to be careful about going outside Ouagadougou. Amadou had come from Mali the day before passing though Bobo with no. issues.
2. Our guide says there is relatively no corruption in the country. Getting ahead in life is much more related to aptitude and ambition than who you know. Dealing with our two guides was completely open.
3. The north of BK is Sahel but the south is green and verdant. Ponds full of white water lilies are common along with active agriculture. The wet season is just ending and crops are being harvested. Sorghum is probably the most common and is used for beer and as a grain.
4. Compared to most nearby countries, there is relatively little garbage.
5. Motorcycles and bicycles are common. Most roads in Oagou have entire side lanes for motos and bicycles.
6. Circumcision. Boys are circumcised usually between 6 and 12 with no anesthetic. In the ‘old’ days, the foreskin was stretched out and a cleaver chopped it off. As not enough may have not been removed, there was another chop. Now they are done with scissors and still take a month to heal. Virtually every boy has one, unlike in Canada where they are now uncommon as Medicare does not cover them and mal[insurance does not cover you. Nobody forgets the experience. A large ceremony follows.
Female circumcision is against the law in almost all West Africa but still occurs in the villages. Secrecy is obtained by holding mass circumcisions every two years.

Day 1 Fri 07/10.
Fly Niamey, Niger – Ouagadougou, NIM-OUA @ 8:20-8:25 am Air Burkina (co-share Ethiopian Airlines) ASKY Airlines KP047 (C$395 direct 1h 5m)

OUAGADOUGOU (pop 2,453,496 2019; pronounced “wa-ga” and the locals ouagalais) is the capital, administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre, and the country’s largest city. Ouagadougou’s primary industries are food processing and textiles. The economy is dominated by the informal sector.
Ouagadougou has one of West Africa’s largest markets, which burned down in 2003 and has since reopened with better facilities and improved fire-prevention measures. and several craft markets.
History. It was the permanent residence of the Mossi emperors from 1681. The Moro-Naba Ceremony is still performed every Friday by the Moro-Naba and his court. In 1919 the French made Ouagadougou the capital of the Upper Volta territory (basically the same area as contemporary Burkina Faso). In 1954 the railroad line from Ivory Coast reached the city. The last time the train ran was in 1986. Ouagadougou’s population doubled from 1954 to 1960 and has been doubling about every ten years since.
On 15 January 2016, gunmen armed with heavy weapons attacked central Ouagadougou at the Cappuccino restaurant and the Splendid Hotel. 28 people were killed, and at least 56 wounded; after a government counterattack, a total of 176 hostages were released the morning after the initial attack. Three of the perpetrators were also killed.
Climate. hot semi-arid with an annual rainfall of 31 in. The rainy season is May to September, with an average temperature of 28 °C. The maximum temperature during the hot season, March to April, can reach 43 °C. The harmattan (a dry wind) and the West African Monsoon are the two main factors that determine
Transportation. Many residents travel on motorcycles and mopeds. Green cabs cost 200 to 400 CFA.
By plane. Thomas Sankara International Airport Ouagadougou (OUA). Air Burkina.
Rail. Ouagadougou is connected by passenger rail service to Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou and Ivory Coast. Sitarail operates a passenger train three times a week along the route from Ouagadougou to Abidjan.
Other attractions include the National Museum of Burkina Faso, the Moro-Naba Palace (site of the Moro-Naba Ceremony), the National Museum of Music, the statue of Thomas Sankara and the village artisanal.
Our flight arrived at 09:30. Three needed the VOA and were shown to a side area to fill out the form (2 photos, Hotel with its phone number mandatory) and pay the fee of 118,000 CFA, cash only. It took about an hour. Amadou arrived to help us and paid the fee for two of us without that much cash.
We checked into our hotel – 35,000 CFA. Rooms were reasonable and centered on a large courtyard filled with art, many paper mache figures of full-bodies breasts and bums.

Sacred Crocodile Pond of Bazoule. Bazoulé is a small village located about 30 km away from downtown Ouagadougou. The most interesting fact about this amazing place is that it has hosted for more than five centuries, a very famous crocodile pond that has become one of the most visited attractions in Burkina Faso.
According to legend, in the 14th or 15th century, crocodiles had guided the villagers to a water source at a moment when they had to travel several miles to get water because of severe droughts. Since then, the villagers have lived in perfect harmony with the crocodiles that they protect, respect, feed, and even bury like human beings.
After a complete explanation of the crocodiles, everyone had the unique opportunity to take photos sitting or laying on the back of one of the crocodiles (and this is completely safe). These wild animals have always lived and interacted with the villagers.
This is a moderately large lake full of crocodiles visited regularly and some are as habituated as a crocodile can be. They are sacred to the local community as they are viewed as the embodiment of the elders of the community. All of us sat on the back of the largest crocodile, and held his tail and front legs. They fed two chickens to the crocs by dangling them above the animals.
Steve Sankara’s memorial. He was the leading force in the 1987 revolution and was assassinated. It is a large bronze of him in military garb on a big plinth, holding his arm up.
United Nations Roundabout. The steel-framed globe with blue continents is in the middle of a roundabout.
In the evening, we had to decide if we wanted to go overland via Bobo and cross into Mali. After much reassurance from our guides, the four of our group continuing on to Mali all agreed to go overland, certainly my strong preference.

Day 2 Sat 08/10
Ouagadougou – Tiebele (3.5hr/ 180 km south of Ouagadougou) – Gurunsi land and the Kassena civilization with impressive wall paintings and architecture.

TIÉBÉLÉ
The last 35 km drive to Tiebele was on heavily rutted dirt road so the entire drive from Ouaga took 4 hours each way. 
Cour royale de Tiébélé Tentative WHS: (24/01/2012). Royal Court of Tiébélé.
Located at the foot of a hill in a plain landscape, the Royal Court of Tiébélé forms an irregular circular space of approximately 1.2 ha. It is accessed from the southwest by the main entrance. There are several characteristic elements: the Pourou, a sacred mound where the placentas of family members are buried, the nabarê, the altar of the ancestor, the red fig tree, sacred stones, the courthouse, the cemetery of the ancestors and at the bottom the concessions divided into 5 domains corresponding to the following categories: the princes, the guardians of the drums, the elders, the little brothers, and the spokespersons. Each concession is organized around a parent company which, as seen from above, has the shape of a figure eight. The courtyard is characterized by a rich traditional architecture of a defensive character. It is surrounded by high fence walls connected by the walls of the dwellings. The whole forms an enclosure that is difficult to cross.
The Kassena habitat is entirely built with local materials: earth, wood and straw. The huts have no foundation, the walls are raised in shaped earth. The earth mixed with fibres and cow dung is moistened to an ideal state of plasticity, allowing almost vertical surfaces to be shaped, much like large pottery is shaped. The rate of construction is 4 to 5 layers per day, i.e. approximately 30 cm. The height of the box can reach ten benches of banco and the thickness is 20 to 15 cm. Today this technique is replaced by the use of molded mud bricks (adobes) with walls resting on large stone foundations. The flat roof system is developed in Kassena architecture. After building, the woman applies a mural decoration with variable patterns and techniques. It is an old practice that dates back to the 16th century AD.
The Kassena are among the oldest ethnic groups in Burkina Faso. The origin of the chiefdom of Tiébélé, the most important of Kassongo, dates back to the 16th century.
The mural painting denotes the artistic prowess of the Kassena woman. In the courtyard, the chief practices traditional religious rites. Divination sessions to consult the ancestors and deities of the Kassena pantheon take place regularly. Depending on the results, we may be led to make offerings on specifically dedicated altars, visible in front of each mother house.
The Pè (chief) is the guarantor of social order. Sixty-nine (69) villages dependent on Tiébélé. Nowadays, alongside traditional power, there coexists a modern power embodied by a municipal executive. Many have converted to new religions (Islam, Christianity). However, they remain attached to ritual and traditional practices, thus giving rise to religious syncretism.

We left the hotel at 8 for the long drive to Tiebele where the Royal Palace is a Tentative WHS. The drive was on a good road heading south 100 km almost to the border of Ghana. It was then a two-hour, 35 km drive on a terribly rutted dirt road east to the village of Tiebele. There were many large trees with many burls.
The village dates from the 1500s and presently has about 300 residents. It is renowned for the painted houses and walls done by the women of the community. At the entrance is a tomb of a king, a hill where royals are buried and a very basic graveyard with a few simple dirt mounds but no markers. Narrow lanes and stairs connect the houses.
The houses are of three types: small round houses for unmarried people, rectangular houses with a top deck for married couples and much more elaborate homes for the elderly. We entered a gorgeous house with a sitting area, kitchen/bedroom and a cooking area vented to the outside. The doors are very low forcing anyone entering to do so almost on their hands and knees. Any enemy would have his head chopped off. All the surfaces were polished to a smooth shine. The walls were incised geometrics.
Many walls and sides of the exteriors have geometric black paintings redone about every 10 years. After the rainy season, the exterior walls are replastered with red clay. Then two women painted the designs. When finished they are rubbed with a talc stone.

We were up early in an attempt to see as many sites in Oagua before starting the drive at 11 am to Bobo (5-6 hr/360 km west of Ouaga)
National Museum. In an unusual globe-like building, it has history and ethnography.
Grande Mosquée de Ouaga 2000. An unattractive, reinforced concrete mosque with two minarets, the inside is low-ceiling with no dome. The 165 columns have green/white tiles.
Ouagadougou Cathedral. This is an impressive large rectangular brick building. The three naves and every square foot has pews or chairs. There is an unusual colour scheme of bright green, pink or yellow painting on the arches. We were there on a Sunday and it was standing room only – every seat filled, standing in every available space and a row of people sitting outside.
Moro Naba Palace (Ethnographic Museum). Since the coup the building is not open, but it is a two-story yellow building in a large walled area.
Central Market. The market is huge spread amongst several large brick buildings. Stalls snake out in every street. The products sold, except fruit and vegetables, are primarily for the locals.

I did not see
Ouagadougou Zoo – 2 zoos: Zinaire Animal Park (sounds good) and Zoo du Bangr Wesoogo (in city and poor)
Memorial to the Martyrs
Laongo Sculpture Symposium. Founded in 1989, by Burkinabe sculptor Siriky Ky, the symposium takes place on a site 35 km from Ouagadougou. Invited sculptors create their works in situ using granite from the site. Some works combine local granite and other materials such as metal. The first iteration of the biennial symposium opened on January 13, 1989, gathering 18 sculptors from 13 countries. The tenth edition took place over twenty days in May 2012.

BOBO DIOULASSO (pop 903,887 2019) second-largest city and the cultural capital of Burkina Faso). Southwest of the country (Black Volta Region) with the lushest and most culturally diverse section of the country. 
Occupied by the French in 1897. In 1927 the French razed the old village of Tunuma and the other settlements but Sia proper survives today as the Dioulasoba neighbourhood, through the widening of streets in successive urban renewal projects. Between 1926 and 1929, the French colonial government constructed a typical European grid pattern of new avenues and streets in the city, intersected by diagonals radiating from a center, with square urban lots between them. This established the framework for the modern city center.
Hub of a rich agricultural zone, which produces food grains, fruits and seedlings (mangos, citrus), and export crops (cotton, cashews, and the gathered oil seed karite/shea). and economy primarily agriculture.
Bobo-Dioulasso has well-preserved examples of colonial-era architecture in “neo-Sudanic” style (examples: the museum building, the train station).
Tropical wet and dry climate – dry season October to April and temperatures exceeding 38 °C, average rain of 40 in annually.
Evening local artists? Overnight Bobo.

Bobo-Dioulasso Grand Mosque. Possibly the largest example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture in the country, built in either 1880 or 1893 as a part of a political agreement between the king of Sya and Islamic religious leader Almamy Sidiki Sanou.
Enter the large low-ceiling mosque with many columns and rough wood stick ceilings. There are many vent holes covered by clay pots on the roof. The largest minaret was severely damaged and has been completely rebuilt using reinforced concrete and bricks – it had still not been mudded. The other minaret is intact. Climb up onto the roof of the mosque and descend the minaret.

Cathedral of our Lady of Lourdes. Built in 1931, it is a large round roofed building. The back large window is all stained glass. Surprisingly for a Catholic church, there are no Ways of the Cross. 
Musee Communal Sogossira Sanon. It is surrounded by a wall with cartoonish bas reliefs depicting several aspects of BF life. Inside are ethnographic exhibits. I found the two ancient stringed musical instruments with leather bodies the most interesting.
Bobo Dioulasso Central Market
Old Kibidwe artisan’s market. Blacksmiths, potters and dyers

Day 4 (Mon, Oct 10): Drive Bobo Dioulasso to Banfora (2hr/ 85km SW of Bobo)
La Mare aux Poison Sacres de Dafre. Not far from Bobo-Dioulasso is the ‘sacred fishpond of Dafra’, a sacred natural pond and the source of the We River. Locals use it as a site of pilgrimage and come here to sacrifice chickens to the fish, which have, understandably, grown huge.
Koumi – typical Bobo village. Time seems to have stood still for centuries. See young female’s initiation place.

BANFORA & Area
Domes of Fabedougou. Sandstone severely eroded into pancake layers. We climbed up into them for nice views. These are 2 billion years old, but despite being that old, the sandstones have been barely metamorphosed and are surprisingly young-looking. They are so well-preserved that some of these rocks even have ripples and dunes created by ancient water and wind flow. They are formed by differential weathering that gives the rocks their layered look, with each layer weathering at a different rate depending upon their composit

Cascades de Karfiguéla (Banfora Cascades). A series of waterfalls along the Komoé River about 12 km northwest of Banfora. One of the most important tourist sites in Burkina Faso, the flow of the falls peaks during the rainy season from June to September.
The dirt road turns into a rough single track. From the parking area, it was a 500 m flat walk to the river that falls in a series of small cascades to the final large waterfall. It drops precipitously but it is difficult to get to the very bottom. I went in for a short soak.

La réserve de Biosphère de la Mare aux Hippopotames de Bala (Hippopotamus Pond National Park) Tentative WHS (24/01/2012). About 60 km from Bobo-Dioulasso, tt was created in 1937 and recognized by Unesco in 1987. The park has several wetlands, partially flooded by the Black Volta.

Day 5 Tue Oct 11
Sya, Centre Historique de Bobo-Dioulasso Tentative WHS: (24/01/2012). The village of Sya or Dioulassoba is the original core of the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Sya is made up of three villages, Kibidoué (8 houses), Tiguisso (6 households), and 4 in Konsa, These villages each have a motherhouse which is that of the founder or the eldest of the lineage.
Mainly built of local materials (cob walls, argamasse roof terrace supported by wooden posts and beams) and one could go around the village by the roofs. Now there are cement blocks, cut stones and corrugated sheets.
Sya is home to three villages; two indigenous ethnic groups, Bobo-dioula and Bobo-mandarє, and three great religions (traditional-cult of Do-, Christian and Muslim) which coexist peacefully, with mutual respect for their respective cultures and traditions. There is a strong sense of community attachment to the historical and cultural values ​​of the three mother houses and the first eighteen (18) lineage houses. The motherhouses house the hypogea which preserves the burials of the ancestors and elders of the lineage.
Sya retains its village attributes with its ritual practices (funerals, commemorative festivals of bobo traditions, etc.) and, remarkably, Sya preserved its cultural originality.
Across from the mosque, Sya is a large area of adobe houses and narrow dirt lanes, many with a running water sewer in the middle. Most people here are animists sacrificing chickens, goats, sheep and rarely dogs. The chief had a separate area that could not be entered. The oldest house dating to the 11th century is a large building in the best shape of any other in the town. 
Sya is bounded on the east by a small stream with garbage cascading down the banks. There were surprisingly several large sacred carp in the foul stream. They are fed regularly by the locals, never eaten and given a proper burial. We then visited the beer-making house where the sorghum mash sits and then boiled for a few days. 

After Sya, we started the long drive to San Mali. We avoided the main, more direct route where a Thai man went missing at the Mali/BK border (which heightened the fear-mongering). Dr Song (Nopparat Rattanawarha) was kidnapped by bandits and held for 3 weeks. He ended up paying a $150,000 ransom. He is on his way to 193
Our route crossed from Koloko, Burkina Faso to Heremakono, Mali, a route that went via Sikasso, Mali. We crossed the border painlessly but bribes had to be paid on the Mali side.  We arrived in San after about 9 hours on the road, as the route was not only much longer but much on a potholed road. 

I didn’t see the following.
Pics de Sindou, a formation of sharp sandstone formations. Sindou is a simple town where locals celebrate marriages or funerals with balafon drums and there is traditional dancing all day for two weeks around Ramadan and Eid al-Adha. For ritual dancing, the women and girls dress up in bras and skirts with colourful Christmas garlands and have their faces and bodies painted. The city is also a base for visits to Mount Tenakourou, the highest peak of the country.
Gando Primary School. Modern Architecture Buildings: Deals with poor lighting and ventilation. Clay is abundantly available and used as a clay/cement hybrid to create structurally robust bricks. Provide thermal protection against the hot climate. The walls must be protected from damaging rains by an overhanging roof.
In Burkina Faso, corrugated metal roofs are popular, although they absorb direct sunlight and overheat the interior of the buildings. Kéré’s design solves this problem by pulling the roof of the Gando Primary School away from the learning space of the interior. A dry-stacked brick ceiling is introduced in between, allowing for maximum ventilation: cool air is pulled in from the interior windows, while hot air is released out through perforations in the clay roof. Alleviates the need for air-conditioning.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES Burkina Faso
1. ANCIENT FERROUS METALLURGY SITES OF BURKINA BASO 
The 5 locations in different provinces of Burkina Faso comprise fifteen standing, natural-draught iron ore smelting furnaces, slag heaps, several other furnace structures, mines and traces of dwellings. Blacksmith traditions are still alive today.
Douroula. In the Sahelian zone, it dates to the 8th century BCE and is the oldest existing iron production facility in Burkina Faso.
Iron production technology was already widely disseminated by around 500 BCE.
Tiwêga (the only site close to Ouagadougou near Kaya), Yamané, Kindibo and Békuy (none of these show on Google Maps) all have remarkably well-conserved iron ore smelting furnaces. They are massive production sites that, through their scale, illustrate the intensification of iron production during the second millennium AD, at a time when Western African societies were becoming increasingly complex. Iron ore reduction –obtaining iron from ore – is no longer practiced today but village blacksmiths still play a major role in supplying tools in various rituals and perpetuating ancestral rites and social practices to carry on traditions still alive today.
No furnace has been dismantled, moved or damaged by vandalism. Only the furnace base at Douroula with the earliest dating has been physically protected.
Tiwega iron furnaces located only a few kilometres from Kaya, northeast of Oagua (the Google were coordinates worthless – its real location is 13.087748, -1.144837). There was a signpost along the main road, but in the labyrinth of dirt roads, there was no chance of finding these ovens on their own.
Must get permission at the nearest village and visit in their vehicle as one cannot go in a normal car – 10-minute drive and 5-minute walk. The place where the ovens is sacred and can only be visited with the head. Women who could not become pregnant.
The stoves were used in the XIV-th century and very quickly abandoned. From one batch, 15 to 25 kilograms of pig iron were obtained, and 10 times more coal (I guess charcoal) than ore was put into the furnace. The temperature in the oven was about 1600 degrees, and the obtained pig iron was also cleaned in much smaller furnaces. The most interesting was the way the ore was found – the best way was to walk barefoot, because the ground in a place with iron ores was so warm that even the locals were not able to tread on it. Another way is the observation of nature – apparently, there is a kind of bush that grows in the proximity to iron ore.
Kaya was theoretically located on the border of the no-go zone, but the taxi driver at the Ouagadougou airport assured that it was safe. We agreed for 50,000 CFA (around EUR 70) for the trip. The road to Kaya took us two hours and did not look like a road through a country with a terrorist threat. For over 100 kilometres, we did not see any police checkpoint (incidentally, perhaps that is why it is easier for extremists to act here). We got to Kaya and the town positively surprised me – it even has a museum (although it did not work, you could at least see or buy some local crafts).

2. THE RUINS of LOROPENI
The ruins of Loropéni are an ancient heritage site near the town of Loropéni in southern Burkina Faso. The site, which spans 11,130 square metres (119,800 sq ft), includes an array of stone walls that date back at least a thousand years forming an ancient fortress, the best preserved of ten in the flat area. As of yet, the ruins have revealed little about their past, as much of the archaeological site has yet to be excavated.
The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Kulango people and prospered from the trans-Saharan gold trade, reaching its height between the 14th and 17th centuries AD. It was abandoned in the early 19th century and has largely been left to nature’s whims.
Already, bits of the settlement have been lost to time. Centuries of wind, rain, and bushfires have weakened the walls that remain.
In 2009, the ruins of Loropéni were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s the first World Heritage Site within Burkina Faso, and it’s hoped this prestigious title will fuel some funding for further research and excavations.

3. W-ARLY-PENDJARI COMPLEX also known as the “WAP Complex”, is a transboundary Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger covering:
Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. 760 km² (290 sq mi) with a wide variety of habitats: gallery forests of the Arli and Pendjari rivers to savanna woodland and sandstone hills of the Gobnangou chain. It is home to around 200 African elephants, 200 hippos and 100 lions. There are also buffaloes, baboons, red and green monkeys, warthogs, and various antelopes, such as the western hartebeest and roan antelope. There are also bushbucks, duikers and waterbuck. The park was earlier a habitat for the West African wild dog.
The park can be accessed via the N19 highway via Diapaga (in the dry season also via Pama). Arli National Park has several pools, such as Tounga where there is a waterhole and there are two pools which are often visited by up to twenty hippos.
Pendjari National Park. 2,755 square kilometres, lies in northwestern Benin, adjoining Arli. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife and is home to some of the last populations of big game like the African forest elephant, West African lion, hippopotamus, buffalo, and various antelopes in West Africa. The park is also famous for its richness in birds.
The hills and cliffs of the Atakora range make the northwest one of the most scenic areas of Benin. 2017 it was officially inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
W National Park. Major national park around a meander in the River Niger shaped like the letter W. The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, created in 1954, and since 1996 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
10,000 km² largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a Malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mekrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills.
Plants. 454 species of plants including two orchids and tiger bush plateaus.
Large mammals: aardvark, baboon, African buffalo, caracal, cheetah, African bush elephant, hippopotamus, African leopard, West African lion, serval and warthog. The park provides a home for some of West Africa’s last wild African elephants. However, the rare West African giraffe, today restricted to small parts of the Niger, is absent from the park. The W Park is also known for the historic occurrence of packs of the endangered West African wild dog, although this canid may now be extirpated from the area. Northwest African cheetah has 25 individuals.

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For details, go to http://www.ronperrier.net/2020/02/24/mali-the-trip-2/

MALI
Day 5 (Tue, Oct 11): Bobo Dioulasso-San, MALI (6hr/ 280 km)
Leave early for a drive via Sikasso to San. arrive in the afternoon and visit the adobe mosque of San. Overnight in San
Day 6 (Wed, Oct 12): San-Djenne (2.5hr/ 130 km north of San)-Segou (5hr/ 315km east of Segou). Drive to Djenne to see the Grand Mosque (UNESCO World Heritage site), weekly market, the manuscripts library and the Tomb of Djenpo. After lunch, continue to Segou. Watch the sunset.
Overnight in Segou
Day 7 ( Thur, Oct 13): Segou-Bamako (4h/ 235 km west of Segou)
Traditional boat to Segoukoro, a village on the river, residence of the Bambara Emperors and fishermen villages and learn about the production of mud cloth. Drive to Bamako for overnight.
Day 8 (Fri, Oct 14): Bamako-Siby
Siby, in Manding country, home of the Mandinka, an ethnic group descended from 13TH century Mali Empire. Visit the Arch of Kamajan, a beautiful natural arch. Historically it served as a meeting place for soldiers, warriors, councils and leaders dating to the 13th century. Visit the sacrificial graves and consultation graves. Overnight in Bamako.
Day 9 (Sat, Oct 15): depart Bamako – depending on flight time, we can visit other places in/ around Bamako Note: Air France, Turkish Airlines, Royal Morocco, Tunisia, most depart late at night.

Get In  
By plane. Flights from Abidjan, Brussels, Casablanca, Dakar, Niamey, Paris on the following carriers: Air Algérie, Air Burkina, Air France, Air Ivoire, Brussels Airlines, Royal Air Maroc. Turkish Airlines has some of the best fares from Europe to Ouagadougou.
Air Burkina is the national carrier and offers a number of flights within West Africa and to Paris.
By train. 517-km railway from Ouagadougou to the Cote d’Ivoire border, about 48-hr Abidjan to Ouagadougou, and 24 hr for Bouake to Banfora.
By bus to Ghana, Mali, and Benin.

Get Around 
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.