Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast in English), officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country in West Africa. The Republic of the Ivory Coast, on the south coast of the western bulge of Africa, is bordered to the north by Mali and Burkina Faso, to the east by Ghana, to the south the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Liberia and Guinea.

In Ivory Coast, there are three main climatic regions, the coast, the forest and the savannah. The greatest rainfall (80 to 120 inches) and the small range of average temperature, 73°F-80°F (23°C to 26.6°C) occur in the coastal region, which has a long dry season from December to April, followed by the great rains in mid May to mid July. The short dry season is from mid-July to October and the little rains in October and November. In the central forest region, rainfall is high (53 to 100 inches), humidity continuous, and the season less clearly marked. The earlier, shorter dry season (November to mid-March) is followed by a short wet season (mid-March to mid-May), a short dry season from mid May to mid July and the great rains for mid July to mid November. Temperatures reach their maximum in the northern savannah at between 90°F-94°F (32°C -24.4°C) minimum is around 14°C (57°F). There is a long wet season from June to October, and the dry season extends six or seven months.

There are more than 60 ethnic groups in Ivory Coast, the key ones being the Baoulé in the center, the Agri in the east, the Senufo in the north, the Dioula in the northwest and west, the Bété in the center-west and the Dan-Yacouba in the west. Houphouët-Boigny promoted his own group, the Baoulé, who account for 23% of the population. The succession of Konan Bédié, another Baoulé, has annoyed many groups, the Bété in particular. Migrants from other west African countries account for up to 40% of the population.

National or official language is French.

One of Côte d'Ivoire's most famous festivals is the Fêtes des Masques (Festival of Masks), which takes place in the region of Man occurs in November. Numerous small villages in the region hold contests to determine the best dancers and to pay homage to forest spirits who are embodied in the elaborate masks.

Another important event is the week long carnival in Bouaké each March.

In April, the Fête du Dipri in Gomon, near Abidjan. This festival starts around midnight, when women and children sneak out of their huts and, naked, carry out nocturnal rites to exorcise the village of evil spells. Before sunrise the chief appears, drums pound and villagers go into trances. The frenzy continues until late afternoon of the next day.

The major Muslim holiday is Ramadan, a month (around December) when everyone fasts between sunup and sunset in accordance with the fourth pillar of Islam. Ramadan ends with a huge feast, Eid al-Fitr, where everyone prays together, visits friends, gives presents and stuffs themselves.

World famous reggae artist Alpha Blondy is Côte d'Ivoire's best known singer, though his music isn't necessarily representative.

The country's traditional music style is characterised by a series of melodies and rhythms occurring simultaneously, without one dominating the others. The Dan are an extremely musical people. They don't do anything without music. Rice, Death, Marriage, Birth, Weather are all celebrated with music

Historically, this music has been the prerogative of just one social group, the griot (village entertainers), who use only instruments they can make with local materials, such as gourds, animal skins and horns. instruments used include Talking drum, djembe, Kpalogo, Shekere (Youroo), Akombe, Cleavers.

VISAS & IMMIGRATION
Visas are required by all except for nationals from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, and USA. Passports must be valid for at least least months after your proposed departure date.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
1st Jan New Year's Day
1st May Labour Day
21 May Ascension Day
15th August Assumption Day
1st November All Saint's Day
7th December National Day
25th December Christmas Day
26th December Boxing Day

Popular Cities in Ivory Coast

Abidjan

Yamoussoukro

Bouake

Dabou

Grand Bassam

Gagnoa