Ouahigouya

Ouahigouya is a large town in North Burkina Faso, near the Mali border. It is the fourth largest city in Burkina, and as the final major city in Burkina on the route to Mali, there is a constant flow of tourists and commercial travelers.

Understand

Ouahigouya was founded in 1757 and is the capital of Yatenga region. As the center of Mossi culture, Mooré is the common language.

The town is dry and dusty, and there is a large barrage on the north side of town.

Get in

By bus

3000 CFA one way between Ouaga and Ouahigouya; 5500 CFA round trip

• STMB: Tel: 55.00.59, daily 06:45, 10:00, 14:00, and 18:00 (to and from Ouaga are the same times) Be sure to ask about their Carte de Fidelité which can be obtained in Ouaga and Ouahigouya. Ride 10 times (aller-retour counts as 2 trips) and get a free ride to anywhere that STMB buses travel.
• STAF: 55.02.51, daily 06:30, 13:30, and 17:30 (to and from Ouaga are the same times).
• SOGEBAF: 55.07.31, daily 06:00, 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, and 20:00 (to and from Ouaga are the same times) Although they have many scheduled trips daily, they are consistently very late and undependable.
• STGF: 06:00 (Ouahigouya – Ouaga) and 14:00 (Ouaga – Ouahigouya)
• ZST: 07:30 (Ouahigouya – Ouaga) and 13:00 (Ouaga – Ouahigouya)

OHG can be approached from most directions and is also a hub for those traveling north to Mali. Check bus stations for times of departure and the rather large taxi brousse gare next to the SOGEBAF gare. This is the end of the paved road from Ouaga; the roads north to Mali, west to Tougan and Dédougou, and the road east to Djibo are all dirt

See

• 1 Naaba Kango's tomb (Mausolée du Naba Kango). 
• Yatenga Naba's compound. 

Do

• Ciné Palace – movies shown daily with prices at 100, 150 and 250 CFA depending on your seat.
• Futbol Stadium – located near the post office and is the site for the occasional match among local squads.
• Hotel de L’Amitie pool – 1500 CFA to swim for the day but 1000 CFA for Peace Corps volunteers with ID.

Buy

Market

Relatively large but laid-back atmosphere in the middle of town. Its proximity to Ouaga provides a good variety of typical marché fare. The faux type factor is low, meaning that merchants’ starting prices are generally more reasonable than in Ouaga and Bobo. There is a large vegetable market with a good selection of seasonal produce. The marché closes on Friday afternoon but the vegetable market is open after hours

Boutiques

There are typical boutiques on every block and more substantial ones surrounding the market, but look on the paved road through town for gas station shops and larger stores offering tuna, cookies, jelly, oatmeal, cereal and many more tasty treats.

• Gas stations include Shell shop, Mobil and Excel. All are decent options for restocking things you can’t get in village. Excel, though a bit of a trek, offers a greater selection of non-edible items.
• Chaine d’Avion – a store that is geared towards wealthier clientèle offering various specialty items not generally found in boutiques, however its selection is not noticeably different from the gas station shops.
• DGE (Deo Gratias Electronics) – small but the best place to go in Ouahigouya for higher-end electronics.
• ADC Photo – has reasonable prices and decent film development by Burkina standards.

Tailors

Sidi Madhi: good for copying stuff, especially pants and men’s dress shirts.He makes great man dresses (not fancy wedding/swear-in bubus...we’re talking lay-around-the-house-too-hot-for-real-clothes man dresses). Prices: 750 CFA for a simple blouse, 1500 CFA for pants, 1500 CFA for a man dress, a little more for tanti-style dresses etc. To get there enter the market on the same side as the STAF gare and veggie market. Past the post/Western Union big entrance there are a couple of small entrances and then another one that is larger and the size of the Western Union one. The small entrance before this bigger one is where you go in and the second stall on the left is Sidi-Madhi’s stall or just go in near there and ask for Sidi Madhi. He has done a lot of stuff for past volunteers.

Eat

Restaurants

• Hotel Dunia – must call ahead (55.05.95). For 2500 CFA, Madame cooks Syrian/Lebanese/Burkinabé food that is highly acclaimed by many PCVs.
• Le Caiman – many locals claim the grilled chicken here at 2000 CFA a pop is the best in town; a variety of good tasting typical Burkinabé fare (frites, riz-sauce, meat soup, etc.) for around 300 – 1000 CFA.; service is bad even by Burkina standards
• Maquis “Le Kadiami” – classy-looking restaurant with high prices
• Hotel Amitié – also a classy joint with white table cloths and overpriced Sobbras. If you’re willing to dish out the cash, you can indulge in various European and Middle Eastern dishes.
• “Tanti’s Gourmet” – large portions of tasty upscale street food served in an “eat with your hand” laid-back restaurant environment; arguably the strongest piment in Burkina.

Many other standard bar/restaurants, kiosques and cafés (such as Auberge, Ciné Place, Hawaii Café) with decent food at reasonable prices can be found along the main road through town.

Street food and snacks

There are many “benga ladies” along the main road and around the marché with fewer as you leave the center town; typically they offer benga, rice and sauce, tô, spaghetti and sometimes meat soup; atchiéké is also a popular street food dish which can be found around town without too much effort. Gateaux, galettes, and various forms of fried dough and potato-like produce throughout the marché and surrounding areas. There is a guy near the post office who grills delicious chicken for 1500 CFA a pop. Also the Laiterie Kossam Yadega is well-stocked with consistently tasty milk products for sale; while enticing, don’t be fooled by the expensive gateaux for sale, it’s not worth the price.

Drink

There are many bars along the main route and throughout town serving standard fare (sobbra, flag, castel, Guinness, etc.) A few notables:

• Hawaii Café – according to its menu, it offers a few specialty coffee drinks as well as oatmeal. There are also a couple grilled meat vendors right nearby.
• Auberge – frequented by many wealthy-looking businessmen; offers some tasty but not cheap plates of grilled mouton and poulet.
• “Military Bar” – closest bar to the Peace Corps house; generally not busy but it is apparently affiliated with the military and some female volunteers have had less than pleasant experiences there.
• Bar Restaurant Dancing de L’Amitié – next door to the hotel restaurant; seems like a good place to cut loose on a Saturday night.

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Liberté (off Ave de Mopti, north of the centre). The rooms here have no mosquito nets and no grilling on the windows. 
• Hotel Coulibri. Fan, pretty clean, mosquito nets, near former PCVL house. 4,700 CFA (PCV rate 4000). 
• 2 Hotel Dunia. Nice hotel 6,000 to 10,000 CFA. 
• Hotel Auberge. Dirty and a reputed brothel. 2,000 CFA. 
• 3 Hotel de l’Amitie. Very large with a pool; rooms range in price from 5,700 CFA (shower and bed) to 26,500 CFA (Salon, refrigerator, complete bathroom, air conditioned, television). 

Connect

Post Office

Two large radio towers mark the site of the PO in the southern part of town. Open M-F 07:30–12:00 and 15:00-17:00. Sa 07:30–12:00. There is an internet café next door which is run by the post office (see below).

Internet cafes

• Cyber Poste, in the building adjoining the post office — Open M-F 08:00—12:00 and 15:30-18:30, Sa 08:00—12:00 and 3PM — 6PM; 250 CFA per 15 minutes; connection speed is generally slow, but it varies according to the day and time.
• Le Synagogue, next to the SOGEBAF Gare – open everyday 07:00-22:00; 250 CFA per 15 minutes; connection speed is slow, though it varies according to the day and time.

Cope

Banking

The BICIAB bank along the main route has a 24-hour ATM — it is not especially dependable, but does work.

Go next

To get to Mopti, in Mali, you'll need to get the daily minibus to Koro, which leaves at 06:30 (2500 CFA). However, connections at Koro are unreliable and you might not arrive in Mopti till 6pm or later. Be prepared for a dusty journey, and if you can, get your Mali visa before travelling — the Malian officials on the border are likely to try to extract a bribe from you otherwise.

• Tours of Dogon country – It is possible to find guides and organize a trip to Dogon country in Mali from Ouahigouya. However, it seems that the guides in Mali are more familiar with the area and better equipped than the guides that can be found in Ouahigouya, so it is probably better to use one of the Peace Corps-friendly guides based in Koro.