Travel Guide Bouar

Located 452 km northwest of Bangui, Bouar is the birthplace of Nana-Mambéré. It was here in the heart of the country that the French had installed a military base, the famous FAO. The entire economy, and more broadly the entire urban organization, was therefore thought to depend on the needs and pace of life of the military. The rows of trees that demarcate the streets and create perspectives, the colonial villas cossues, which proudly converge in the most high-altitude neighbourhoods, testify to this time when Bouar was a holiday destination coveted by the Central French. The road Bangui-Bouar was then fully connected (one must imagine the Citroën convoys crossing the country without difficulties) and Bouar even had a direct air link with Paris.Much has changed since the departure of the French military in 1978. The city seems to be neglected. In the image of this once prestigious modern high school. The asphalt road in the centre and on the hill has become impracticable, so that it is better to ride on the track in adjacent latérite; the popular neighbourhoods, mainly located in the areas caught, are experiencing great poverty. The few barracks still standing are occupied by Central African soldiers, and the houses built by settlers, whose foundations remain, inhabited by civil servants. However, Bouar is certainly one of the Perles pearls. A living museum of the colonial era, dotted with large grey rocks that give it an indefinable charm, the city, perched on a hill, offers less stifling air than in Bangui, and wonderful views of the valley that winds up to Cameroon. Many walking or cycling tours are possible in the surrounding nature, discovering waterfalls, or fishing on the surrounding rivers.Christian missions are numerous in the corner (Catholic, Adventists, Lutheran, Baptist…). The three seminars (diocesan, hexaploid, capuchin) gathered at Yolé deserve a detour: they form, for more than 200 children, a privileged study place, but also a place of agro-pastoral experimentation; in addition, they are housed in a museum, which would have to be cleared, equipped with a few presentations, very interesting collections of traditional masks and crafts. Finally, the city has a unique heritage formed by its megaliths. Huge stones (kind of menhirs) up to 5 m high, they testify to a civilization of the final age of the stone, which had settled on the site of Bouar 25 centuries ago.