Parks and reserves
Ruvubu National Park
Ruvubu National Park in northeastern Burundi is the largest protected ecosystem in the country with over 50,000 hectares.
In the heart of a still wild environment, this unique park is filled with diverse wildlife. Among others, you will find: buffalo, antelopes, monkeys and hippos.
Experienced guides will take you a short walk for a few hours or a day excursion into the park to visit the savannah and its extraordinary beauty.
Rusizi National Park
You don’t want to miss the Rusizi Nature Reserve, which is just fifteen minutes from the center of Bujumbura.
You will be charmed by the richness of the fauna and flora. Nineteen species of mammals live there, including the hippopotamus, which is the most popular animal in the reserve.
The hippos of the RUSIZI delta live in the company of thousands of colorful birds. The Rusizi Conserve has the honor of the legendary Hyphaene, a palm tree that is found nowhere else in the world.
Kigwena Forest Reserve
Established in 1954, the Kigwena Forest Reserve covers 3,300 hectares and is between 773 and 820 m above sea level. It extends over the western foothills of the Congo-Nile range, ending in a gentle slope towards the plain of Lake Tanganyika and straddling the national road Route 3.
The Mugara hot springs are located in this reserve. It is a unique scenic forest and the only equatorial nature reserve of its kind in the country
Kibira National Park
Kibira National Park is perched at an altitude of between 1500 and 2660 m at the top of the Congo-Nile range, a majestic primeval spread of rainforest over 40,000 ha. Once reserved for a sacred hunt for the kings of Burundi, it is now a protected area that is home to some 98 species of mammals, a dozen primates (many families of chimpanzees, baboons, tailed monkeys, black colobus monkeys) as well as some 200 species of birds.
Many streams and rivers that irrigate the country from the East as well as the West have their sources in this park.
This rainforest plays a major role in the formation of the Congo and the Nile River basin and constitutes the watershed line.
Although rarely visited in the recent past, Kibira National Park has become a place that tourists want to visit. On your way, you pass through the impressive tea plantations of Teza and Rwegura. Once in the park, rangers lead you deep into the dark undergrowth to discover the charms of this virgin forest, including the haunting songs of the birds.
Currently, there are two access points to the park: the tourist pygmy village of Busekera and the hydroelectric dam of Rwegura. The dam is another interesting attraction offering magnificent views and a lovely place to rest or have a picnic
You can choose a short walk or a full day excursion with experienced guides to visit the savannah and its extraordinary beauty.