The Congo is not an obvious destination and mentioning you’re traveling to Congo probably raises a lot of questions from friends and family. Congo, are you crazy, isn’t there a war out there?
Yes, Congo has several conflicts and regions which are not safe at the moment, especially Congo-Kinshasa as Congo-Brazzaville is mostly calm, just as huge parts of the DRC. Remember that the Democratic Republic of Congo is a huge country with several destinations which have a normal level of risk. Going to Kinshasa, Bas-Congo and other parts has a similar level of risks like going to Nairobi or South Africa. This doesn’t mean that traveling in Congo is as smooth and comfortable like in other countries in Africa. There is a poor infrastructure in most of the country and power and water black outs are frequent. Corruption is present on all levels and in all corners of the country and you will need a lot of flexibility when traveling to Congo as your programme can often be delayed by bad roads, heavy rain, canceled flights, police checkpoints and other annoyances.
Our travel agency has years of experience in all corners of Congo-Kinhsasa, Congo-Brazzaville and we often have expeditions in nearby countries such as the Central African Republic and Gabon, where we specialise in Dzanga-Sangha and Lopé. We are the only legit agency in Congo who offers such broad range of activities and tours in Congo, next to security and logistics. There are many copy cats on the internet who offer tours at too good to be true prices and often when you arrive at the airport there is nobody there to wait for you. Often these agencies operate from Uganda or Rwanda and publish outdated or incorrect information as they haven’t even been to Congo. We have a wide network all over Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Kinshasa with local guides who actually live in this country.
Due to our passion for the country, traveling and nature, we have explored a lot over the years in both Congos and also the neighboring countries. Our programs are the result of years of experience and exchange with the local population and authorities. Besides travel, we also have a lot of experience in providing logistics to companies, chartering aircraft, arranging transport and logistical assistance with making documentaries.
Kinshasa
People often wonder what you can do as a tourist in Kinshasa and how many days to spend as a tourist in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) as many people are not sure there is a lot to do in the capital. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
Most of our trips start in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Kinshasa. A completely overcrowded city with somewhere between 11 and 17 million inhabitants: nobody knows for sure. The first thing that comes to you when you get off the plane is the pungent diesel smell and the oppressive tropical heat. On the drive to the hotel, you’ll pass through a chaotic maze of taxis, vans tied together with duct tape, carts being pushed, thousands of motorcycle taxis, angry cops whistling loudly, mothers with a child on their backs and a basket full of fruits on the head, sellers who try to sell you all kinds of things through your car window, and so on. Kinshasa is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa and attracts millions of people who come from the countryside (usually in vain) to seek their happiness in the city.
There are plenty of activities and things to visit as a tourist in Kinshasa! In Kinshasa we visit the rapids of the Congo River and a boat trip on the Congo River is also possible. During a city tour, there are many interesting sites to visit such as the cathedral, the new national museum, the embassy quarter, the mausoleum, Académie des Beaux Arts, the Belgian schools, etc. Midrange accommodation in Kinshasa is usually with the sisters of the monastry who also operate a guesthouse, where you can rent correct, clean rooms in the center. A nice room easily costs 250 to 300 euros per night. The best choices are Elais and Rotana, which have good restaurants in addition to good rooms.
A visit to Kinshasa is not complete without diving into the nightlife. There are plenty of terraces where you can drink a nice cold beer or eat brochettes or a delicious piece of chicken. Also very popular is the shisha which you can smoke in many places. Later in the night you can go to one of the many clubs where you can dance to the latest African beats. One of the nicest clubs in Kinshasa is the Chacha bar with a beautiful view over the Congo River from their roof terrace. Be sure to also try poulet mayo, the speciality of Kinshasa!
North of Kinshasa there are a number of pleasant spots, where locals and expats go to escape the busy city life. Think for example of Maluku and N’sele, where you can visit a new safari park over 60 km2 in the Bateke plateau. We can find elephants, zebras, hippos, antelopes and also rhinoceroses and lions, which are in a closed area against poachers. You can book a safari to N’sele from Kinshasa as a day tour or also as a weekend and stay overnight.
East of the safari park we find the Bombo Lumene Reserve, where you can camp or stay in one of the chalets next to the river. It is a small but beautiful reserve. Unfortunately most of the animals have been poached, but it is a wonderful place to relax and walk. It is therefore integrated in a number of our programs. It is also possible to go here for a weekend trip from Kinshasa.
Bombo Lumene:
Just outside Kinshasa in the south we find Lola Ya Bonobo, a bonobo reserve where bonobo orphans, are being rehabilitated to be able to return to the wild. It is a beautiful domain where the bonobos live wonderfully in the green and where we can take a nice walk. This is possible as a day tour from Kinshasa.
Bas Congo
Continuing further south, we arrive at Bas-Congo (Kongo Central), a popular destination for tourism in Congo and the most accessible and easily accessible province along with some parts of Katanga. It is here that some locals from Kinshasa come as domestic tourists, although this is still a very small number of people. The first stop is the charming town of Kisantu, with a beautiful cathedral, a number of colonial buildings and an impressive national botanical garden, where you can walk around for hours and marvel at the beauty of this garden.
A little further is Mbanza-Ngungu, where we can see a number of Belgian locomotives and trains in the old train station. There are also a number of caves where we can see blind fish. Not far from here we also find Zongo, where three waterfalls can be seen. Also in Kimpese, which is a few hours away, there are the Vampa waterfalls. It is wonderful camping and a popular outing among the Kinois.
Check out our pictures and videosfrom Kimpese
In Matadi we find a beautiful bridge over the Congo River with a breathtaking view and north of Matadi in Inga we also find the Inga Dam where we can also arrange an interesting tour where we are treated to impressive images of the Congo Valley.
Check out one of our videos at Inga.
A few hours beyond Matadi is the ex-capital of the Congo Free State: Boma, where we find an ancient baobab, Congo’s first cars and a series of buildings and sites of historical importance. It is a regular stop in our programs on the way to Muanda, a beautiful town on the Atlantic Coast, located next to the mangrove park, where we explore the mangroves at the mouth of the Congo River by boat.
Bonobos, Pygmies and the Congo River
In the provinces of Bandundu and Equateur we find many forests that are home to the bonobos, one of the most symbolic animals of Congo-Kinshasa. We are the only agency that organizes a safari from Kinshasa to track and photograph wild bonobos. For this travel, we take a fast speedboat up the Congo River from Kinshasa and are treated to beautiful views of the Congo River along the way before heading into the forest.
More north of the bonobos near Mbandaka we find several pygmy tribes where we visit for several days to learn more about their daily habits and traditions.
Finally, if you continue following the Congo River, you will arrive at Kisangani, an old port city, with a number of interesting historical buildings, a university and a botanical garden. Here we also find a series of cataracts where the legendary Wagenia fishermen also fix their fish traps between the rocks to catch the biggest fish. It is a unique spectacle that guarantees beautiful photos, which you can see in this video we took.
West of Kisangani we also find Yangambi, an abandoned Belgian research center where we find a huge library. The site is perfectly preserved and is sponsored by the Africa Museum from Tervuren and the botanical garden of Meise.
Salonga National Park and Garamba National Park
In the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo we find the huge Salonga Park with immense rainforests that seem to never end. Inside the park live several tribes who still live according to the same old way in the forest and live from hunting and fishing. This hunting and fishing does little harm to the ecosystem, but it is organized commercial poaching that is a major problem for the survival of this beautiful park. More and more animals are being killed and parrots are also captured to eventually end up in a cage in a living room. Traveling to this park is not easy and an expedition can easily take three weeks with a lot of hardships included. We have already made several visits to this park and we work closely with the guides and people of the ICCN. Please, contact us if you want to book a tour to Salonga National Park to go on safari.
In the far northeast of Congo is Garamba National Park, a first-class park with mainly savanna where we find herds of elephants and giraffes, but also predators such as lions and leopards. In the park is a beautiful lodge with a top team that provides perfect restoration and activities such as game drives and flight safaris. We organise safari from Uganda and Goma to Garamba National Park by plane. Please, contact us if you want to book a safari to Garamba National Park.
Kivu and Virungapark
The east of Congo is without a doubt the most beautiful region in the country and is also one of the most beautiful areas in the African continent. In the green hills of Kivu we find beautiful farms where we can stay and ride a horse over the green fertile landscape. In Bukavu at the bottom of Lake Kivu we find a beautiful peninsula in the lake where it is wonderful to kayak. We also find the lowland gorillas in the Kahuzi Biega park, where we can also take some nice walks to the top of an extinct volcano.
On the other side of the lake from Goma, we find the legendary Virunga Park, which is led by Prince de Merode who protects the park with his team of rangers. We find a midrange lodge with glamping and also a luxury lodge further north. They form the bases to look for the mountain gorillas. You will never forget an encounter with these gentle giants and is one of the most unique experiences you can have. Also in Virunga Park is the Nyiragongo volcano which has the largest lava lake in the world. We organize treks to the edge of the volcano, so that you are treated to a beautiful lava spectacle at night. To complete your holiday in the east, we also recommend a stay on Tchegera Island, an island formed by an extinct volcano in the middle of Lake Kivu and home to many beautiful exotic birds. Please, let us know if you want to book a safari to Virunga National park or a safari with gorilla tracking at Kahuzi Biega National Park with us.
FAQ:
– Is Virunga National Park open again?
As of July 2022 Virunga National park is still closed for visitors. It is not possible to go to Virunga National Park and track gorillas in Congo. We are waiting for the region to stabilise.
– Is the Nyiragongo Volcano in Virunga open for visitors? Can I visit the Nyiragongo?
As of July 2022 the Nyiragongo Volcano is still closed for visitors. It is currently not possible to climb the Nyiragongo Volcano.
– Is it possible to visit Kahuzi Biega and can I track gorillas at Kahuzi Biega?
It is possible to visit Kahuzi Biega National Park and you can track gorillas at Kahuzi Biega National Park. It is not safe to cross the border at Bukavu. We advise you to come through Goma and cross the Kivu Lake. We can help you book your ferry on the Kivu Lake from Goma to Bukavu and book your safari and gorilla tracking at Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Katanga
Katanga is mainly known for its mining industry and a visit to Katanga is therefore not complete without a visit to the mines. The capital of Katanga is Lubumbashi and unlike Kinshasa this city is much quieter and cleaner. We find a lot of beautiful buildings and some very nice restaurants. The towns of Likasi and Kolwezi are also very interesting to visit and Kolwezi in particular has experienced enormous growth for a number of years. A visit to Katanga mainly focuses on the history and culture of these three cities, in which we visit the most important sites and buildings together with our guide and learn everything about these places.
Also not to be missed in Katanga are the various lakes. We mainly focus on Mweru Lake, where we meet the local fishermen and we also organize a night excursion where we go fishing together with the fishermen. It is also nice to stay in the national parks of Upemba and Kundelungu and we can also spot animals and birds during a stay. There are also a number of waterfalls and beautiful lodges to visit and anglers can also go here to catch tiger fish and catfish.
Congo-Brazzaville
Congo Brazzaville (The Republic of Congo) is the little brother of the Democratic Republic of Congo. From Kinshasa we can see the skyline of Brazzaville and a short speedboat ride takes us quickly to Brazzaville. Since a few years there is also a Radisson Blu with beautiful rooms and a delicious kitchen. For food, Mami Wata with its beautiful view over the Congo has long been a fixture in this capital. From Brazzaville there are a number of interesting excursions, such as to the waterfalls of Loufoulakari and Bela, but a stay on an island on the Congo River or a two-day stay in Lefini to visit the gorillas are also possible.
In the north of Congo-Brazzaville we find a number of beautiful natural parks such as Odzala, the only park with luxury lodges, where you can also see gorillas. We have a good relationship with the curator of this park and also offer budget trips with a high chance of seeing gorillas and elephants.
Even further north is Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, just across the Sangha River east of Ouesso. It is a beautiful park with rainforest, where we find a lot of animals and can also track gorillas. It is wonderful to walk through the forest and a stay in this park will completely relax you. The park is currently closed, but will reopen in 2023.
On the coast is Pointe-Noire, a city with a vibrant nightlife, interesting restaurants and many nice beaches. It is a base for a number of excursions such as Gorges Diosso or the park of Conkouati where we also find chimpanzees and where you can also stay in tree houses in a beautiful lagoon in the park. A few hours from Pointe-Noire is the Mayombe forest, one of our favorite places in the country, where you can also spend a few days in a tree house with a beautiful view over the country. During the day you will make excursions with our guide and once back in the village, you will enjoy delicious local meals.
Central African Republic
For the more adventurous among us, we also organize trips to Dzanga-Sangha National Park, the gem of Central Africa and, together with Virunga, we think is one of the top spots in the entire continent. The park became known for its beautiful images of the large groups of forest elephants that come together in David Attenborough’s BBC Africa. The park is accessible by private plane or two days by 4×4 from the capital Bangui. In the park we work together with a top lodge that is beautifully situated on the Sangha river and in the middle of the forest. You will get to know many unique animals, birds, insects and butterflies. You can also do quality gorilla and mangabey tours there. In the evening you can also take night walks where you will encounter timid animals such as galagos, porcupines and owls. Please, let us know if you are interested in booking a travel to Central African Republic with safari at Dzanga Sangha.
