Travel Guide Bala

Going up the national road 10 from Bobo-Dioulasso (about 60 km) towards Dédougou, you will find some very beautiful landscapes. The beginning of the road is lined with secular kaïcédras whose branches form a real arch. Arrived at the village of Satiri, about 44 km from Bobo-Dioulasso, we take the middle track (check the condition of the track before leaving) on the left, towards the village of Bala. Here again, we pass through beautiful villages, where we can stop to chat with the extremely friendly population. From Bala, we continue the trail to the hippopotamus pond. This very rough stretch of track crosses a superb forest dominated by teak, an imported tree with large leaves that has a reputation for growing very quickly and producing very good quality wood.The Bala hippo pond is a vast lake formed by the Mouhoun River (Black Volta in Ghana) and the Baoulé and Siou rivers. The river then flows northward and southward in the vicinity of Kouri, forming the Mouhoun loop. Still going down to the south, it finally forms the natural border between Burkina Faso and Ghana before becoming the Black Volta which joins Lake Volta. This vast lake, more natural than the Tengrela site, hosts a large population of birds (migratory in season) and about sixty pachyderms.To observe them, you must be accompanied and guided by the pirogues posted at the entrance of the pond. The price of the canoe trip is CFAF 3,000 per person (price subject to change). It is possible to canoe the lake at any time of the day or night. However, prefer the morning before 10am and the evening after 4pm, hippos are usually there and the light is superb. The landscape is magnificent, the vines that grow on the surrounding vegetation give the impression of being in a humid tropical country. For the approach of hippos, a minimum safety distance is observed by canoeists but the possibility of taking beautiful pictures is often guaranteed. It is advisable to bring binoculars and a camera with a telephoto lens for close-up shots in case they do not get too close. The traveller may be surprised to see the peaceful coexistence of animals and fishermen, who are relatively numerous and active.In addition, the hippopotamus pond site offers more than just a stroll on the lake. Indeed, it is also a protected forest where herds of antelopes and elephants are returning in large numbers. There are warthogs and monkeys. Botanists will be delighted with more than 270 woody species and 160 herbaceous plants spread over the various environments (open forest, gallery forest of the Wolo, Leyessa and Tinamou rivers, lake banks). This unique biodiversity reserve was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1987. Managed in a participatory way with the local village populations, it is intended to welcome a growing number of nature lovers.