Burkina Faso

Seasonal calendar — from climate data and curated definitions.

National holidays — closures and days off.

UNESCO World Heritage sites in this country.

• W-Arly-Pendjari Complex

  1996Natural

  ©

  The W National Park or W Regional Park is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the Niger River shaped like the letter W. The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded project ECOPAS. The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park. The section of W National Park lying in Benin, measuring over 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi), came under the full management of African Parks in June 2020. In Benin, W National Park is contiguous with Pendjari National Park which is also under the management of African Parks.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
• Ruins of Loropéni

  2009Cultural

  ©

  The ruins of Loropéni are a medieval heritage site near the town of Loropéni in southern Burkina Faso. They were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009. These ruins were the country's first World Heritage site. The site, which spans 1.113 hectares, includes an array of stone walls that comprised a medieval fortress, the best preserved of ten in the area. They date back at least a thousand years. The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Kulango people and prospered from the trans-Saharan gold trade, reaching its height between the 14th and 17th centuries. It was abandoned in the early 19th century.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
• Royal Court of Tiébélé

  2024Cultural

  ©

  The Royal Court of Tiébélé is a traditional Kassena architectural complex located in the town of Tiébélé, in the Centre-Sud Region of Burkina Faso. This traditional complex consists of the residence and court of the Kassena king (Pè) and other royal family members, mausoleums, memorials, shrines, and other traditional adobe structures such as sacred groves and stone courts. The adobe structures of the complex are also renown for their traditionally decorated and painted walls, a craft that is done exclusively by women. The traditional royal court ensemble was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2024.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
• Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso

  2019Cultural

  The Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso are a collection of ancient metallurgy sites across five locations in the Nord and Centre-Nord regions of Burkina Faso, used to extract iron from ore. The oldest of these structures are dated from roughly 800 BC, making them the most ancient known examples of metallurgy in Burkina Faso. In 2019, the sites were registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of the exemplary evidence of ancient metalworking. Unlike other sites that are listed by UNESCO, these were chosen because it's a clear relationship between direct iron smelting and early human society. They were able to create an efficient way to mass produce iron during a pre-industrial Africa.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)