Lake Kossou

Lake Kossou was created in 1973 when the Bandama was dammed at Kossou, flooding a large area of Baoulé country and displacing tens of thousands of people whose villages are under the water. It is generally counted the largest lake in the country, irregular and island-scattered, and fishing communities work it from pirogues. Dead trees still stand in the shallows in places, and the shoreline is a mix of farmland, fishing settlements and open water.

History

The lake was created in 1973 by the Kossou Dam on the Bandama, built under the United Nations Development Programme, and some 75,000 people from 200 settlements were moved to 54 new villages. The earth and rockfill dam is about 1,500 m long and drives a hydroelectric plant of 174 megawatts (Wikipedia, Lake Kossou).

The landscape

• The lake - generally counted the largest body of water in the country, island-scattered.
• The drowned villages - settlements under the water since the 1973 flooding.
• The standing dead trees - trunks still visible in the shallows.
• The fishing pirogues - communities working the lake from the shore villages.

When to go

November to February is the dry season and the most comfortable. Water levels drop through the dry season and expose more of the old ground. The rains from June to October raise the lake.

Before you go

There is no visitor infrastructure and boats are arranged informally with fishermen. Bilharzia is present and swimming is not advisable. Access roads to the shore are rough.

Nearby

Yamoussoukro is south, and Bouake is east.

Key facts