Sugar, waterfalls and domed mountains in Banfora

Banfora is a small town in the South-West of Burkina Faso.

1 - Farmers' wealth

Being two agriculture fanciers coming out of the arid and infertile North of the country, we had our eyes popped out at the view of such abundancy in the fields. Which are the six crops you recognise on the picture?

Coton in the front, peanuts and millet where Wim is standing, maize in the field on the left. Toddy palms (for palm wine), and mango trees in the back.

2 - Railway

Banfora is located on the railway connecting Abidjan, capital of Ivory Coast, with the Burkinese cities of Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou. Right next to the railway, you find a cereal transformation plant that produces flour from imported maize and wheat. Because of the turmoil in Ivory Coast, the supply has ground to a halt, and the factory stopped turning... Even before the Ivorian commotion, however, the privatised plant was being mismanaged.

3 - Thunder clouds

Full of courage we took off on foot to Tengrela Lake, a nice water surface with fishermen in proas and hippos all over. On the road, mean dark clouds came out to disturb our pleasant walk. The downpour forced us to return to town.

4 - Flotting rice

After the rains, the dark sky and the descending sun provoked wonderful colours in the deep paddy rice fields of Banfora.

5 - On the moped

No rain would stop us this time. On the moped through sugar cane fields, on our way to waterfalls and domed mountains.

6 - sugar cane

Near Banfora you can find gigantic sugar cane plantations of over 4500 hectares. The SoSuCo (Société Sucrerie de la Comoé, the province of which Banfora is the chief town) provides the whole country with sugar and even manages to export. The cane is being irrigated with water coming from a barrage lake on the Comoé river.

7 - view from the domed mountains of Fabédougou

Rainwater and dusty winds have been sculpting the sandstone rocks near Banfora for thousands of years. One of the results: the fine domed mountains near the village of Fabédougou.

8 - On the domed mountains

In the flat land Burkina it is a relief to be standing on a mountain.

The tubes you see in the distance are leading water from a barrage lake upstream to the town of Banfora and to the sugar cane fields for irrigation.

9 - waterfalls on the Comoé river

The waterfalls of Karfiguela are one of the major tourist attractions of Burkina.

10 - waterfalls of Karfiguela

The proof that we really went on holidays together.