Burundi Weather, climate and geography

Weather and climate

Best time to visit

A hot equatorial climate is found near Lake Tanganyika and in the Ruzizi River plain. It is often windy on the lake. The rest of the country is mild and pleasant. Burundi has two rainy seasons - the major one from February to May, with a minor rainy season between September and November, and two dry seasons: the long dry season from June to August and the shorter dry season between December and January.

Required clothing

Lightweight cottons and linens with waterproofs for the rainy season. Warm clothes are recommended for the evening.

Geography

Burundi is a land-locked country in the heart of Africa, a little south of the equator, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, by the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west and by Tanzania to the south and east. The interior is a broken plateau sloping east to Tanzania and the valley of the River Malagarasi. The southern tributary of the Nile system rises in the south of the country. The landscape is characterised by hills and valleys covered with eucalyptus trees, banana groves, cultivated fields and pasture. In the east, the fertile area gives way to savannah grassland, and tea and coffee are now grown on mountainsides.