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Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Butembo is a city of 286,242 people in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Why visit Butembo
Townapedia lists 20 museums and landmarks, 4 parks and trails, 41 places to eat, 45 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Réserve naturelle de l'ITAV (Ngengere.
Weather in Butembo
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Butembo
Butembo is a city in North Kivu province, in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on the Rwenzori graben and west of Virunga National Park. The city is an important commercial centre with large markets, a cathedral, multiple large hospitals, and an airport. It is the city where the most prosperous businessmen of the East of the country live. The city is located in a region known for tea and coffee growing.
From the Wikipedia article Butembo (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks20
chapelle Catholique Notre Dame De bon conseil
Monument and historic site · Roman Catholic · 2.2 km
Centre Évangélique Francophone Arche de l'Alliance
Monument and historic site · 1.0 km
8 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds4
Réserve naturelle de l'ITAV (Ngengere
Hiking and trails · 2.3 km
C. Kimemi Q. Malende, Butembo
24/7
Restaurants and cafes41
29 more on the map.
History
Before 1924, the village of Lusando served as the residence of the Mwami of the Bayora. It was a center dedicated to the trade of salt from Lake Katwe (Uganda), fish and "milumba", beaten bark cloth, from neighboring regions. From 1928 to 1930, the Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs (MGL) set up the administrative headquarters of the northern branch of its operations in Butembo, which became the transit and acclimatization center for the workforce located at road junctions. In the 1930s to 1940s, a core of Europeans composed mainly of traders and industrialists settled 1 km south of the MGL headquarters on either side of the Congo-Nile road, the current Route Nationale 2. It is the genesis of an indigenous town between Kambali hill and Ruwenzori avenue.
In the 1943 edition of Codes et Lois du Congo Belge, annotated by Léon Strouvens with Pierre Piron, the name of Butembo was already mentioned in decree no. 47 of August 19, 1937, relating to the urban districts of the province of "Costermansville", future Kivu then fragmented into North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. This decree recognized Butembo as a large village. Subsequently, in 1949 by Order No. 21/053 of September 23, 1949 in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance-Law No. 170/AIMO of July 20, 1945 establishing indigenous cities, Butembo was recognized as an indigenous city.
From the History section of Butembo on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay45
Churches and places of worship175
Eglise Mission Internationale de l'Epée Flamboiyante( MInEFla)
Church · Pentecostal · 0.9 km
Eglise Pentecotiste Vie Abondante(EPVA)/ Uzima- Tele
Church · Pentecostal · 1.2 km
Shopping32
Gas and EV charging20
Schools, colleges and libraries177
Healthcare57
Map of Butembo
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Aéroport de Rughenda (RUE) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 4 km away.
- Katwa 6 km south, about 6 min by car
- Lubero 34 km south, about 34 min by car
- Beni 44 km northeast, about 44 min by car
- Mangina 51 km north, about 51 min by car
- Hyosha 67 km north, about 1 h by car
- Kayna 85 km south, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- CD Butembo (36) (16607094104), Diego Tirira from Quito, Ecuador, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Hôtel Butembo 2, Beny tsangamusa, CC BY 4.0
- Maison Haujue butembo, Beny tsangamusa, CC BY 4.0
- Hôtel Butembo 1, Beny tsangamusa, CC BY 4.0
- Butembo5453, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5460, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 1, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5462, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5465, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5463, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5435, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5459, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub Butembo IMG 9064, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5433, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5448, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5472, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5466, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5434, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5471, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5467, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5426, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5464, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5427, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5445, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5430, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub Butembo IMG 9010, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5470, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo5439, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Butembo 5468, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Wikiclub Butembo IMG 9078, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub Butembo IMG 8961, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub Butembo IMG 9061, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub Butembo IMG 9033, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- Équipe de foot fac d’Agronomie UCG Butembo, Beny tsangamusa, CC BY 4.0
- Universite Assomption Congo campus Butembo 02, HeritierNsenge, CC BY-SA 4.0
- WikiClub IMG 8988, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub IMG 8970, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub IMG 9007, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub IMG 8949, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
- WikiClub IMG 8928, Beny tsangamusa, CC0
Page built November 8, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.