Welcome to Congo
Reading the title of our website (Karibu Congo, which means Welcome to Congo), more than one person wonders if it is a good idea to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo, countries where several international media have reported permanent insecurity since the independence of the two Congos.
If some reports make the Congo a hellish country, where it is dangerous to go there, many other reports can prove you wrong. If there are red spots of insecurity in some places in the eastern part of this African giant, this is not a reality throughout the entire extent of this country larger than Western Europe, seventy percent of the Indian territory, four times the size of France, eighty times larger than Belgium, with its 2,345,410 km2.
The same reality applies to Congo Brazzaville, in its southern part, where some foreign media reported permanent insecurity. Those who visited in the last twenty years have always had a different experience to that of these aforementioned reports. Congo Brazzaville is the second-most safe country in Central Africa and among the top ten in Africa.
After the inscription of the Congolese rumba in the cultural and intangible heritage of humanity, the Congo continues to garner diplomatic successes, in key areas of international visibility.
The Odzala-Kokoua
The Odzala-Kokoua reserve is now registered as a highly sought-after and especially highly envied world heritage site. A biosphere reserve with an area of 13,546 km2, the Odzala Kokoua Park straddles the departments of Cuvette Ouest and Sangha. This massif is one of the most important strongholds of forest elephants in Central Africa, and it is recognized as the park with the richest diversity of primates in Central Africa.
Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park, now temporarily closed due to armed conflicts, was created in 1925 in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it the oldest national park in Africa. Its savannahs teeming with wildlife of the Serengeti genus, its Nyiragongo, Nyamulagira, and other volcanos, among the active on the continent and in the world, its non-active volcanoes, home to the famous mountain gorillas, its two large lakes and rivers belonging, some to the Nile basin, and its plateaus separating the Nile basin from the Congo basin, make this park an unparalleled site in Africa and in the world. Originally, it was designated as Albert Park; its current name dates from 1969. It was then enlarged in 1929, then in 1950, to reach its current area. In 1979, it was declared a World Heritage Site 1 but was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Denmark in 1994. It has also been designated a Ramsar site since 19962.
The Gorges of Diosso in Congo Brazzaville
It is an unusual geological space with a lot of charm. When you are there, it is not far from the Slave Port that is connected with the island of Goree in Senegal and the Slave Stelle.
Lesio Louna Reserve
In addition to the gorillas, you will have the chance to see hippos going up the river with the boats of the Lesio Luna reserve, not to mention the magnificent landscapes! Possible to do the visit in a day, leaving Brazzaville at 6:30 am.
Lola ya Bonobo (Bonobo Santuary)
The Paradise of Bonobos” is a sanctuary created by Claudine André to collect and save baby bonobos that are victims of poaching and, eventually, reintroducing them into a nature reserve. The Bonobo is Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo; the name “bonobo” comes from the distortion of the name of the city of Bolobo located on the banks of the Congo River. It has an appearance closer to men than the chimpanzee.
The National Museum of the Republic of the Congo
The largest museum in Brazzaville; it is very beautiful, and you do not get bored there, especially when you are accompanied. very beautiful photos and objects representing the Congolese basin and the birth and discovery of Brazzaville; the site helps you discover the whole history of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza and the creation of Brazzaville.
Tchimpounga Chimps Sanctuary
Built-in 1992 and located 50 km north of Pointe-Noire, in the Kouilou region of Congo-Brazzaville, the Tchimpounga Sanctuary is located on a coastal plain covered with savannah and a mosaic of gallery forests where the canopy meets above the river. In addition to the 26 hectares of the sanctuary, a 7,284-hectare reserve was created in March 1999 and classified by the government of the Republic of Congo. Its management has been entrusted to the Jane Goodall Institute. It currently houses 148 chimpanzees, a number that unfortunately continues to increase. It is generally the Congolese authorities who bring the baby chimpanzees to the sanctuary, after having confiscated them from hunters who were trying to sell them as pets or attractions.
Stanley Falls (Les Chutes Wagenya )
The Wagenya Falls, or Stanley Falls, is famous for the activities of the people of the ENYA tribe, commonly called Wagenya, who have been practicing acrobatic fishing, unique to its kind, for generations. In addition to the daily fishing activities, there are fishing rituals, circumcision ceremonies, baptisms or swimming initiations for toddlers, traditional wrestling, Kabubu,… which visit this site at a purely tourist moment.
Congo Peat Lands
In 2017, we revealed that the world’s largest tropical peatland is in the central Congo Basin. That peat covers 16.8 million hectares, 11.3 million hectares in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and 5.5 million hectares in the Republic of the Congo (RoC). A giant slab of carbon-rich peat, discovered in central Africa, is under threat from uncontrolled development – posing a significant risk for future climate change, wrote BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding. The vast Central Congo peatland complex contains the highest densities of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the world, as well as chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), forest elephants (Loxodanta cyclotis) and endemic bonobos (Pan paniscus) (Fay and Agnagna 1992; Rainey et al. 2010) and Allen’s swamp monkeys (Allenopithecus nigroviridis), the latter of which is found only in swamps and inundated forests (Gautier-Hion et al. 1999; McGoogan et al. 2007). These peatlands also harbor a diversity of fish, crabs, freshwater mollusks, and other water species such as Odonata (Brooks et al. 2011); it is estimated to shelter more than 200 fish species.
The source of the Congo River
The Congo River has its source in the Haut Katanga Province, on a marshy plateau, near the village of Mufosi, close to the Zambian border. It is accessed by the Kilela Balanda track, on the Lubumbashi Likasi-Kambove road. Beyond the emotion of being at the source of such an extraordinary river, the reality of the place is a simple sheet of clear water in a calm and shaded place. The interest in this place is above all symbolic. A ceremony is established in the name of the ancestors by the village chief before visiting the source. It is first necessary to implore the clarity of the ancestors before allowing the visitor to approach it. The latter is then invited to throw a little money in the water while making a wish. Each visit is made with a joyful village escort who accompanies the visitor.
In the footsteps of the Red Rubber massacre by King Leopold II soldiers
The part of the province of Oubangui-Sud and Equateur in the forest areas located between Bumba, Lisala, and Mbandaka is known to have suffered infernal brutality compared to the forest areas of rubber trees, such as the provinces of Kasai, ex-Katanga, and Uele, where there were also massacres following forced labor by the Askari (Tanzanian and Hausa mercenaries) of King Leopold II
PYGMIES
The natural world of pygmies offers us a lot of information, that can educate us intellectually and culturally. The Pygmies, considered the first citizens of the Congo, have a rich culture. In several places where the majority of pygmies live, nature still offers its virtues. The pygmy’s life fits the rule of the protection of the ecosystem. A visit to the Pygmies is at the same time a journey through a wonderful geography. With deforestation, insecurity, and refusal to integrate other peoples, the pygmies have observed two migratory movements: moving away into the dense forest, seeking refuge with other peoples, or living in annexes of Bantu villages. To visit them and learn about their rich culture, we have special teams to facilitate and guide you so that your visit is humanly possible and can respect ecological values. We can guide you to visit the two major groups that exist in the world. Eastern Pygmies, present in Rwanda, the eastern DRC, and Uganda: this group includes the Aka, Sua, Efe (or Mbuti), and the Batwa; Western Pygmies, present in Cameroon, Central Africa, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo: it includes the Bakas, Kola, Bongo, Koya, Aka, and Twa.
Kahuzi Bihega National Park
Located in the eastern part of the DRC, in the south-west highlands of Lake Kivu, the Kahuzi-Biega National Park is an exceptional habitat for the protection of the rainforest and the eastern lowland gorillas, Gorilla berengei graueri. it is also one of the ecologically richest regions of Africa and worldwide. Kahuzi-Biega National Park contains a greater diversity of mammal species than any other site in the Albertine Rift. The park protects 136 species of mammals, among which the star is the eastern lowland gorilla, and thirteen other primates, including threatened species such as the chimpanzee, the colubus bai, and the cercopiuthic of Hoest and Hamlyn. The Wildlife Conservation Society established a complete list of birds in the park in 2003 with 349 species, including 42 endemic. The property is protected by the National Park legal status and managed by the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN). A management and surveillance structure is present. There are many other sites where we can take you: we can mention the Hell’s Gate Falls, the sites of the Arab slave traders in Maniema (Kasongo), Ubundu, the Kundelungu Falls, the Sanctuary of the Chimpanzees of LwiroUbundu, Chabati Falls in the Kahuzi Bihega Park, the Congo River embankment in the Atlantic Ocean at Moanda, the Congo River estuary mangroves, Stanley’s baobab, Lake Bikoro, Lake Edward, Lake Albert, Black Lake Mai-Ndombe, the Castel of King Leopold II…
Aside from the above sites, you can still visit in both Congos: the Sapeurs (dandies of fashion), voodoo wrestling, Congolese Rumba, colonial sites, legacies of transatlantic slavery, legacy of the Arab slavery; the Kinsuka Rapids, the Loufoulwakari Falls, the Congo River estuary, the Stanley Baobab, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Edouard, Lake Albert, Lake Bikoro, Lake Isale, Lake Tumba, Laake Moero; the Portes d’Enfer Falls, artisanal mining activities, the Copper Eaters,… the Jerusalem of African souls in Nkamba, Lumumba’s dungeon, Lumumba’s office, relics of the DC plane that had transported Lumumba during his torture before his death, the tree on which Lumumba and his companions were tortured and executed; the first and second Congo vehicles, the first Congo locomotive, Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao’s writings on the rock of the port of Matadi… The list is not exhaustive.
V. WE CAN ORGANIZE FOR YOU
- Gorilla permit
- All transportation
- Accommodation,
- International/domestic flights
- Boats
- Sherpas
- Guides
- Transporters
- Translaters
- Visa
- Meals and drinks
- Security Advice on both Congo
- Secret Tourism Visit for Celebrities