This underexplored beauty of a country boasts rainforests, river systems and wildlife, including gorillas, elephants and other rare species
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Odzala-kokoua National Park
Odzala-Kokoua National Park, in the remote north-west of Republic of the Congo, is one of Africa’s oldest national parks established in 1935. It is a tapestry of pristine rainforests, savannahs, rivers and bays and plays an integral part of the Congo Basin and TRIDOM Trans frontier Park (overlapping Gabon, Congo and Cameroon) – the lungs of Africa.
Today, Odzala Discovery Camps –Ngaga camp, lango camp and Mboko camp– are gaining fast traction with those who visit to experience one of the world’s last intact eco-systems. A haven for the Western Lowland Gorilla, Forest Elephant, Bongo and many more species of flora and fauna. Reasons to visit Odzala National Park include; an opportunity to immerse yourself in one of the oldest parks in Africa, located in the heart of the world’s second biggest rainforest, the Congo Basin.
The experience of tracking western lowland gorilla through the dense Congo rainforest. Spend time at one of Odzala’s many bays and enjoy sightings of the various wildlife that come to drink and eat: forest elephant, forest adapted hyenas, bongos, the diverse birdlife and so much more, also discover the park via bushwalks and river trips, guided by members of the local community, to simply relax and to open all your senses to the magic and serenity of the equatorial rainforest.
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Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park is Africa’s most biodiverse protected area, home to over one thousand species of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian as well as 1/3 of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. Located on the eastern edge of the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, Virunga has become known as the park of fire and ice for its diverse habitats ranging from the Rwenzori peaks to savanna and volcanic plains.
Despite being a UNESCO world heritage site, Virunga is constantly threatened by war, poaching and illegal activities as well as unpreventable natural disasters. With the support of donors, the Virunga Foundation actively conserves the Park which spans over 3,000 square miles.
Virunga National Park is the only protected area on Earth home to three taxa of great apes: the mountain gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the eastern chimpanzee, African Bush Elephants, Hippopotami, Colobus Monkeys, Okapis(also known as the forest giraffe, a species endemic to the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and lions
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Kahuzi Biega National Park
Named after the 3,000+ meter Mt. Kahuzi and the 2,700+ meter Mt. Beige this spectacular national park is in the South Kivu Province and stretches from the Congo River basin to Bukavu. Kahuzi and Beige are extinct volcanoes that now afford some incredible hiking.
It was created in 1970 in order to protect the Eastern Lowland Gorillas and just ten years later was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gorilla poaching has been a problem for decades but thanks to the park authority, a dedicated education effort is ongoing.
Today, the gorillas are still endangered, but their quality of life has improved, and conditions are improving year each year. You’ll find incredible biological diversity in the park like endemic plants, African forest elephants, chimps, genet, antelope, and serval. Eastern lowland Gorillas, monkeys, forest buffalo.