Parks and Places

The DRC is a very big country and deeply troubled for many reasons, most of which will give the average traveller pause for thought which is sensible and I encourage people to find out as much as you can before travelling here, not only from various governmental agencies and advisories, but also from people on the ground there. However it is possible to visit this country and there are tourists going there especially to Virunga and Kahuzi Biega and new tourist facilities are being built so it is not a no go zone, for a quality Gorilla experience that is very well priced it is worth considering.

Kinshasha

This is the capital of DRC and one of Africa's biggest cities with over 11 million people living here. The city looks over the Congo River with Brazzaville the capital of Congo over on the other side. As with many African cities there are areas that display immense wealth but the bulk of it is poor people with informal businesses and ramshackle infrastructure, interesting in itself as to how this many people seem to make a living here.

Lola Ya Bonobo

On the outer edges of Kinshasha is a small piece of jungle reserve that is the home to the amazing Bonobo Sanctuary of Lola ya Bonobo. This place is doing excellent work in trying to locate orphaned bonobos from the pet trade and bush meat trade and to then give them a new home and family to bond with and when ready the family is then released back into the wild at their jungle sactuary further upstream of the Congo River called Ekolo ya Bonobo. It is possible to arrange day trips to the sanctuary and see the Bonobos

Virunga National Park

Running along the Eastern Boundary of DRC with Uganda and Rwanda is the Virunga National Park, one of the oldest protected areas in Africa and easily one of the most diverse ecological environments. So far scientists have recorded over 3000 species of fauna and flora, 300 of which are endemic to this area. It is best known for its well organised and habituated viewing of Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees along with a variety of other primates like Black and White Colobus and Golden Monkeys. You can also climb one of its active Volcanoes Mt Nyiragongo and watch this huge lava lake bubbling away in the night. Down towards Lake Kivu there are more savannah like habitats that are part of the system as the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Then in the far North you have the high Rwenzori Mountains that reach over 5000m in altitude.

Lake Kivu - Goma

Goma is the busy border town between Rwanda and DRC and the best place to enter DRC if you want to visit the Virunga National Park. Along the lake shore there are a number of small hotels and resorts which are quite comfortable and even out on the lake you can spend some nights on Tchegera Island - Still inside Virunga National Park and a great way to end a gorilla trekking and volcano climbing safari.

Kahuzi Biega National Park

This is one of DRC's biggest parks and is primarily a lowland rain forest habitat. There are some higher and mountainous parts as well, but most people visit here to see the very rare and endangered Eastern Lowland Gorilla. This is possible by staying in Bukavu the nearby border town and then doing day trips into the park.

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Parks and Places

DRC

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