Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is situated in West Africa and bordered to the north and west by Mali, to the east by Niger, to the southeast by Benin and to the south by Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The southern part of the country, less arid than the north, is wooded savannah, gradually drying out into sand and desert in the north. The capital, Ouagadougou, has an interesting Ethnography Museum containing a substantial collection of Mossi artefacts, the town being the centre of one of the many ancient Mossi kingdoms. The Moro-Naba ceremony, with traditional costumes and drums, takes place outside the Moro-Naba Palace early every morning. Bobo Dioulasso is the largest town inhabited by the Bobo people in Burkina Faso, with attractive streets and a bustling market, the Grand Marché. There are some restaurants in Ouagadougou and in Bobo. Specialities include brochettes (meat cooked on a skewer) and chicken dishes. Beer is reasonably priced. There are several nightclubs in Ouagadougou and open-air cinemas. Bobo Dioulasso has a lively street-cafe scene.