National parks of the Democratic republic of Congo

National parks of the Democratic republic of Congo

National parks of the Democratic republic of Congo : The Democratic Republic of Congo is an African continent blessed with tourism resources. The tourism sector in the DR Congo may not be as developed but is at a steady rate. The democratic republic of Congo is a country located in western Africa and derived its name from the Congo River which flows throughout the country which is known as the world’s second largest river and the world’s deepest river.

 

The Democratic republic of Congo is bordered by the Republic of Congo in the northwest, the Central African Republic in the north, South Sudan in the north east, then Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi in the east side, Tanzania (Lake Tanganyika) to the south, Zambia in the south east and Angola in the south west. This is a very large country sitted on 2,345,408 square kilometers of land.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has up to 10 national parks and more than 10 national reserves. All these national parks have a unique identifier that attracts people to visit them however much the country maybe a developing country with instabilities. The major attraction for tourists heading to the Democratic republic of Congo is the gorillas. This country is the only country where you can visit both the mountain gorillas and the lowland gorillas. The Democratic republic of Congo has both species of the lowland gorillas and that is the eastern Lowland gorillas and the western lowland gorillas.

The gorillas are however not the only attraction that this country has, there are many other primates you can visit in these national parks, African wildlife with a rich flora and birdlife for the guests interested in this. There are also some exciting landscapes, hills, valley escarpments, volcanic mountains both the active and the dormant volcanic mountains. In the whole central Africa, the Democratic republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo offer the best tour activities with their bio diverse nature.

On a safari in the Democratic republic of Congo, there are a number of activities you can look out to engage in such as mountain gorilla trekking, eastern lowland gorilla trekking, wildlife watching experience, chimpanzee tracking, bird watching experience, mountain hiking experience, cultural experience among the many. The Democratic republic of Congo despite its security concern is ranked among the best tour destinations in Africa so you will need to have a fearless and love for adventure to visit this destination. There are a number of national parks in the DR Congo that you may opt to visit to enjoy the beauty.

Virunga national park. This is the most visited national park of the country and is famous for its mountain gorillas. Virunga national park is located in the eastern part of the country in the Nord Kivu province. This park was one of the first national parks in Africa to be established and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 majorly because of its great ecosystem.

This park’s resources are managed by the Congolese National Park authority called Institute Congolais Pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). While in the Virunga national park, you can look out for the mountain gorillas, the chimpanzee families in the Mahura forest, visit the active volcanic Mount Nyiragongo, check out the wildlife in the Lulimbi sector take, take on a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest or in the communities. You can also visit the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage in the Mikeno lodge compound.

You can access the Virunga national park by air flying into the Goma International airport and drive 10 minutes to the Grande Barrier or fly into the Kigali International Airport and drive through the rolling hills of Rwanda on road for 5 hours. Connect to the Virunga national park DR Congo via the Goma Gisenyi Grande Barrier building or via water on Lake Kivu from Kahuzi Biega national park.

Kahuzi Biega national park. The Kahuzi Biega national park is famous for its lowland gorillas. Kahuzi Biega national park is located in the south eastern part of the country in the Sud Kivu province. You can access this park via Lake Kivu from the Virunga national park or take a road transfer from Kigali Rwanda and cross from the Rusizi border into the DR Congo.

Kahuzi Biega offers lowland gorilla trekking experiences, there is a Chimpanzee sanctuary that you can visit, Tshibati waterfalls as well and there are two mountains you can hike while in the Kahuzi Biega national park that is the Mount Kahuzi and the Mount Biega. A gorilla trekking permit in this park goes for 400 USD. You may also take on a birding safari or nature walk in this park.

We offer safaris to both the above parks and we look forward to hearing from you about which of the above parks you may be interested in visiting.

On your visit to the DR Congo, you may also visit the Upemba national park Congo that is famous for the wildlife safaris in Congo, the Salonga national park that is famous for the water safaris, Bonobos and the pygmy chimpanzees, Maiko National park that is known for the eastern lowland gorillas, the Odzala national park that is known for its western lowland gorillas and the Nouabale Ndoki national park known for its western lowland gorillas and wildlife safaris.