Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Le Mistral
BAR
( 11am-midnight)
The outdoor terrace bar is open every night and is a relaxed place for a
beer, but what really draws the crowds to this place is the indoor (air-con) nightclub open
Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (CFA500; doors open at 9pm). The bar is located
southeast of town on one of the new sealed roads.
Information
Banque Atlantique
(Rte de la Côte d'Ivoire)
Ecobank
(Rte de la Côte d'Ivoire)
Getting There & Away
Rakiéta
(Rue de la Poste)
and
TCV
(Rue de la Poste)
have regular departures for Bobo-Dioulasso
(CFA1500, 1½ hours, eight daily) and Ouaga (CFA8500, 6½ hours, six daily), and one
daily service each to Bouaké in Côte d'Ivoire (CFA11,500, 10 hours).
The road to Gaoua is in bad condition and only serviced by
taxi-brousse
(bush taxi;
CFA5000, four to five hours). Pick them up at the
Gare Routière
(bus station; Rte de Bobo-Dioulasso)
. Otherwise go by bus via Bobo.
Around Banfora
Just 7km west of Banfora,
Tengréla Lake
(admission CFA2000)
is home to a variety of bird life
and, if you're lucky, you'll see hippos (especially from January to April). The admission
price includes a
pirogue
(traditional canoe) trip. Want to laze a few days away in the area?
Park your backpack at
Campement Farafina
( 76 45 75 15, 78 17 25 04; soloisa6@hotmail.com; Tengréla;
r without bathroom CFA4000)
, a five-minute walk from the lake: facilities are very basic (bucket
shower, mud huts without fan), but the owner, Solo, is an adept musician and a fantastic
host.
Some 11km northwest of Banfora, the
Karfiguéla Waterfalls
(Cascades de Karfiguéla; admission
CFA1000)
are reached through a magnificent avenue of mango trees. You can take a dip in
the lovely natural pools on the upper part of the waterfalls. About 3km north, off the N2
road to Bobo, the
Dômes de Fabedougou
(admission CFA1000)
, limestone formations sculpted over
millennia by water and erosion into quirky domelike shapes, are another arresting sight.
On the road to the Dômes, the sugar factory
Société Nouvelle Sucrière de la Comoé
(Sosuco; 20
91 81 11;
www.sn-sosuco.com
;
off Rte de Bobo-Dioulasso; admission free)
is one of Burkina's more unusual
sights. It produces 35,000 tonnes of sugar a year from 4000 hectares of sugar cane. You
