Congo safaris – Gorilla trekking, lowland gorillas, hike mount Nyirangongo in virunga National Park and more
Congo safaris might be the least preffered safaris compared to other countries but a visit to this central African country will offer you the most rewarding and memorable experience especially when it comes to gorilla trekking and exploring the lowland gorillas in the Virunga National Park.
Seeing mans closest relative in their natural habitat is a once in a lifetime opportunity that everyone deserves to experience and here at Wild Gorilla Tour, we make that dream come to life by arranging you tailor made safari packages to the park. Don’t hesitate reaching out to us if you’re planning for a safari to Congo.
The DRC is the only country with both the eastern and the lowland gorillas. Tourism is mainly done in the two national parks of Virunga and Kahuzi Biega National Park. The country hasn’t got more people wanting to visit due to unending civil wars that scare away international travellers who would want to visit the country.
The tourism sector and the infrastructure in the country are still undeveloped which also contributes to the smaller number of people going in the country to view different species.
The Congo basin rainforest is the second largest forest reserve that serves the planet enough oxygen after Amazon Forest in Brazil.
Congo is richly blessed with minerals, precious stones, wildlife and more but the above remain fully untampered with due to the instability in the country. However, there a number of places you can visit while on your Congo safaris and these include
Kahuzi Biega National Park
Situated in the west of Bikavu town in the southern province of Kivu In Democratic Republic of Congo, is Kahuzi Biega National Park which derives its name from the two volcanoes of Kahuzi and Bienga. The national park is the natural home to the eastern lowland gorillas (Grauer’s gorillas). Its only here that they have been habituated and made available for tourists to see.
Today, the population of these gorilla species is reducing and this is attributed to the diseases, poaching and more other factors. Apart from the gorilla, the national park has other things you can see and these include; different species of birds, African forest elephant, mount Kahuzi climbing mouse, Angolan black monkeys, bush hogs, red tailed monkeys, chimpanzees, bush elephant, aquatic civet, giant gennet, eastern needle-clawed galago among other species.
Virunga National Park
This is the most visited national park in Democratic Republic of Congo. Virunga was gazetted in 1925 with a major aim of protecting the fauna and flora found in the park and that includes the mountain gorillas. Virunga happens to be the oldest national park in Africa and has various wildlife species that call this place home and physical features like volcanoes, vegetation cover, crater lakes, streams and rivers which flow within the dense rainforests.
Wildlife species that you can find in the park include; African elephants, several bird species, forest buffaloes, spotted hyenas, lions, antelopes, warthogs, hippos, pelicans among others. the Virunga National Park is part of the large Virunga conservation region that was shared amongst 3 countries of Rwanda which has the Volcanoes National Park and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
Other things you can do while in the Virunga National Park, you go for a mountain Nyirangongo hike which is a rewarding experience that every traveller would want to participate in. This is the most visited place in country.
It is mainly visited by scientists and scientists looking forward to studying volcanoes and their impact to the environment. Travelers often visit the place so that they catch a glimpse of the boiling lake magma. Hiking to the summit will take you 2 days and most of travellers usually accompany it with gorilla trekking in the Virunga National Park.
Other places to visit while on your Congo safaris include the Garamba national park, salonga National Park, Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary, Maiko National Park close to Kinshasa and alot other areas that will leave you stunned after seeing what they hold within their boundaries.