Practical Information About Public Transport and Accommodation for Travelling to Tiébélé
I already wrote an article about traditional Kassena architecture and specifically about village of Tiébélé. In this Tiebele travel guide, I am giving some practical information about its position, how to get there and back, accommodation etc.
Tiébélé village lies in the Southwestern part of Burkina Faso, close to the Northern Ghanaian border. From Paga border, there is only 50 km away to Tiébélé. This village lies in Nahouri province. The capital of Nahouri is Pô, which is a connection town for reaching Tiébélé. Interestingly, Tiébélé with around 60 000 residents is a home of Kassena chief and its nobility. Kassena people belong to the greater Gurunsi ethnic group, living in northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso.
Tiébélé is a remote and scattered village. Its biggest attraction for travelers are traditional mud houses with wall paintings. These paintings give the village special artistic and culture value and uniqueness.
Read more about traditional Kassena painted houses
Most of natural wonders in Burkina Faso lie in the Western part of the country, which is far away from Tiébélé. But, once you are in Ouagadouou, Tiébélé will not be that far from you anymore, so do consider of going there for a short or longer time.
Most of visitors stay in Tiebele two days (three nights) and so did I and I could see all around the village and its surroundings. But, some others also go there to relax and clear their mind. Tiébélé is a peaceful and tranquil place, distant from loud cities, roads and markets. Despite that, people are very welcoming, open and honest which will make you stay longer than planned.
Getting to Tiebele by Public Transport
Travelling to Tiebele from Ghana (Paga border)
If you are coming to Burkina Faso from Ghana, crossing Paga border, you should pay a visit to Tiébélé, since it lies almost on the way to Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. From Ghanaian border Paga you have to reach Pô town first. The easiest way to reach Pô is by shared car.
There are quite many shared cars waiting for passengers just across the Ghana-Burkina border. A ride with shared car costs 2000 CFA and lasts 30 minutes. There is also a possibility of taking a bit cheaper minibus (taxi-brousse in French), but it can take ages until it gets full and departs.
Once you reach Pô, try to find minibus to Tiébélé. In my case, it was not so easy. First, some people told me that on that day, I cannot get any transport to the village since it is quite late in the afternoon, plus, it was not a market day, so it means minibuses depart less frequently than on busy market days.
But, with a little help of locals, I could soon find a minibus that was about to leave to Tiébélé. It takes about 40 minutes by minibus from Pô to Tiébélé on a bumpy road and it costs 2000 CFA (for foreigners).
(Somebody offered me help with carrying my backpack for not more than 50 meters and at the end demanded money from me. Yes, even in a small place in Burkina people do ask for money in case of helping you with the luggage.)
Coming to Tiebele from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
There is only one bus going directly to Tiébélé three times per week (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday), departing from the bus station Ouagainter. It takes 3.5 hours. Another option is going to Pô first by bus or minibus and then from Pô to Tiébélé by minibus.
Going back from Tiébélé to Ouagadougou
A bus from Tiébélé to Ouagadougou leaves three times per week (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday) in the early mornings. Every day it goes from Tiébélé to Pô, more often on market days.
Renting a Moped in Po or Tiebele
Like everywhere in Burkina Faso, it is also possible to rent a moped in Pô or Tiébélé. It will cost around 5000 CFA per day, not including fuel. If you know how to ride a moped, I think this is the best option, since you will be able to explore this stunning village and its surroundings on your own.
Where to Sleep in Tiebele
There are few guesthouses (Campement or Auberge) in the middle of the Tiebele village. I, for example, stayed in Auberge les manguiers, run by Frank (contact: 0022676617271). The guesthouse is basic, but tranquil and with a good atmosphere.
Rooms in traditional painted houses are small and simple, with fan, common outside toilet and bucket shower, meals and drinking water also available. A double room costs 5000 CFA. Frank can also arrange a day trip around the village and its proximity. One day trip around the village by motorbike with fuel, guide and entrance fees will cost you around 25000 CFA. For accommodation or arrangement of other activities you can contact either Frank either Association pour le développement de Tiébélé.
Note
I did not arrange transport or accommodation in advance and I did not find bigger difficulties. When I asked people in Pô for transport to Tiébélé, one of them knew Frank, owner of the guesthouse.
He called him and told him about my visit to Tiébélé, so Frank came to meet me on the way just before reaching Tiébélé and took me to his guesthouse. So don’t hesitate to call one of the guesthouses or simply mention the driver of the minibus where you are heading to and he will stop the vehicle on the right place.
Your only comment about people was to say that they ended asking money for help… Are you sure you went to Tiébélé ??? Most visitors are coming over the day, like tourists visiting Europe in a week… half a day per capital !!!
Did you notice they are on a survival type of life over there ? You went there on beginning of April, the latest harvest season is far away and the next one still a long way to come. They have very few income apart from agriculture.
People over there are great, they very rarely ask for money (which is very different from a lot of African countries). I’ve been there three times 10 days and will go again, the only beggars are the simple minded people which are integrated to the population and the help they try to get is for youngsters to be helped with the studies, and that is only when they already know you are doing projects to help the locals.
disappointing
Magali
Good afternoon Magali,
thank you for reading our post(s). I think you didn’t get it right. First of all, this post Quick Travel Guide to Tiébélé was published in order to give travelers some basic information on transport, accomodation and other important info needed when going there. Therefore, I don’t understand why did you write “Your only comment about people was to say that they ended asking money for help…” – My intention was not to write about people in this post, but just to warn travelers what happened to me. I was not very happy when they asked me for money after helping me, if I offer my help I never ask for money – I hope you got my point. And I think I have some knowledge and experiences about traveling across African contnent since I traveled and live there for 1 year all together, and visited 11 African countries.But still I was shocked when someone offered me help and then asked for money. I’m not sure if you read my other posts related to Burkina Faso, maybe you can see from there that I wrote positively about Burkinabé people and the country itsef, indeed I was very impressed by it. It is my favourite African country so far.
“Are you sure you went to Tiébélé ???” Yes I’m sure. I also have photos from there so I just think I didn’t dream visiting Tiébélé. Maybe I got the wrong info about the duration of the visit. Also, I have been to many European capitals and for non of them I would claim it can be seen in half a day. Except if you just want to do check in and to make a tick on your travel map.
You are saying that I went there in the beginning of April. This is not true. I went there in November. But this post was published in April which doesn’t mean I was there in April. Thank you for the info about harvesting, apparently I got it wrong.
Katja