Travel Guide Rumonge

Rumonge, 75 km from Bujumbura, is one of the oldest and most populated cities in Burundi. It is a former commercial counter created in the th century by the Zanzibarites, where Muslim influences for religion and Swahili for culture are dominant.City of fishing, commerce… Having a good situation, in the heart of the plain, with a lake access and a pivotal position between the road of altitude leading to the mountainous interior (RN 16 and RN 17 towards Bururi and Makamba) and the coastline leading to the capital (RN 3), Rumonge is an active urban centre where fishing and trade take place in the shade of palm trees in an atmosphere. Although monitored by the Burundian customs officers who are responsible for the payment of taxes on shipments from Tanzania (fish, but also fabrics), the improvised auction on the jetty is a good child to observe absolutely: the arrival of each boat leads to frenetic animation, and even without the possibility of cooking, it is very tempting to buy fish, if only to discuss with fishermen.… and palm oil. The city is also at the heart of a flourishing and highly lucrative regional economy, that of palm oil, which is the wealth of this part of the country. In the entire plain of Rumonge and to Nyanza-Lac, small artisanal presses can be seen to extract oil from palm pods and an industrial refinery (oil and soap) is also installed here (its Belgian leader, Ingo, is also a famous botanist). Rice, finally introduced as the oil palm by the Swahili populations at the end of the th century, flourished in the drained plain and the surrounding marshes.Three protected natural areas are located in a restricted perimeter near Rumonge, one on the shores of Lake Tanganyika (Kigwena), the other more backward in the land (Rumonge and Vyanda). Abandoned by visitors during the war, they became available again. But the conflict, which has led to the weakening of control over nature, has left serious damage. Deforestation (cutting firewood, clearing cultural to introduce the oil palm, bush fires for pasture) and poaching operations on mammals have greatly damaged forests.