Things to see and do North And Equatorial Forests

The bamboo trees offer a magnificent view of the Congo River. A rather nice setting with a vintage design of baked brick buildings. The comfort is there with sofas, air conditioning and a terrace overlooking the river. This change of scenery is accessible at about 10 km from Kisangani. On the banks, we observe the fishermen on their dugouts, each one with his own technique. The result is not always satisfactory but fresh fish is always on the menu. In liboke or grilled, it is the specialty of Bamboo.

garamba Park covers almost 14,000 km², including hunting grounds. It is home to immense grassy or wooded savannahs interspersed with gallery forests and swampy depressions. The park is home to the world's four largest land mammals: elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe and hippopotamus. The rivers are home to hippos, Nile crocodiles, monitor lizards and more. And over 300 species of bird have been recorded.

This is one of Africa's oldest national parks, created in 1938. However, until quite recently, thousands of animals were wiped out, mainly as a result of war and poaching. From 22,000 elephants in the 1970s, militarized poachers have reduced the population to less than 1,200 today. As for northern white rhinos, they were poached to total extinction in the early 2000s. The sale of the proceeds of these massacres (horns and ivory) was used to finance criminal activities, wreaking havoc on the populations in the process. The reintroduction of white rhinoceroses is currently being studied and is scheduled for 2023-24. In 2005, African Parks signed a park management agreement with ICCN. Rangers and local communities in the area were granted a higher level of professionalism and security measures. Since then, a significant reduction in illegal activities in the park has been observed; elephant poaching has fallen by 98%, no Rangers have been killed by poachers since 2017, and key wildlife populations are stabilized or increasing. garamba Park guarantees over 500 full-time local jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs. 2022 saw the effective re-launch of the park, officially closed since 1995. Several groups have already visited the park, which is a veritable environmental nugget. The trips are organized by the Kivu Travel agency. At present, access to the park is only possible by chartered plane from Entebbe or Arua in Uganda. Allow an hour's flight from Arua and 2h15 from Entebbe.

The lodge has a dozen comfortable and charming bungalows. A visit to the park can be combined with a visit to the nearby towns of Faradje and Dungu or other places in Haut-Uele province.

Located seven kilometers from Mbandaka on the left bank of the Ruki River, the garden was founded by Belgian botanist Emile Laurent in 1906. The aim of the botanical garden, then called Bokoto, was to promote the study of indigenous flora. It was complemented by a trial garden to acclimatize useful exotic plants, and a model farm to encourage cattle breeding. Today, the site still extends over 370 hectares, 170 of which are forest reserves. 70 hectares are home to the exotic species planted at the time. In all, the garden boasts 10,000 different species: 3,500 planted species and 6,500 endemic species from the original tropical rainforest. It also boasts some forty fruit species and numerous edible plants. It also boasts a vast palmetum collection. Eala is also a botanical and agronomic research center, with a nursery, a library due to be renovated, a herbarium awaiting digitization... In short, things are moving slowly and an awareness of the inestimable value of the Eala garden is emerging to preserve this magical place. The World Bank has promised to finance the rehabilitation of the site so that visitors can arrive by boat. A few straw huts are already available for weekend refreshments and picnics overlooking the river. From the riverbank, you can see Yala Island, the place that is supposed to welcome bonobos reintroduced from the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in Kinshasa.

Situated 40 km from the city, this lake is accessible from the rivers Ruki and Libele, with its meanders bordering the equatorial forest. The lake has a population of hippos and many birds.

The Maïko National Park occupies a good part of the Ituri forest on an area of 10,830 km², between the Lubero and Maiko rivers. The least bad access route - for the daredevils or scientists who would risk it - seems to be the Mahulu road (southeast of Kisangani or northwest of Bukavu) and requires a very good 4×4 vehicle, an official guide, as well as a proper authorization from the ICCN despite the somewhat chaotic and confused situation that has reigned around this park for the past few years.

It is one of the parks that have suffered the most from the troubles that the east of the country has known since the late 1990s. Located between the provinces of Tshopo, Maniema and North Kivu, it is not advisable to go there at present. Not only because of insecurity, but also because ICCN does not always have reliable information on the fate of the animal population or on the practical organization of the visit.

The park is home to three endemic animal species: the okapi, lowland gorillas and the Congolese peacock, which are found only here, in addition to a population of forest elephants, light-faced chimpanzees and buffalo, and many other species. Fortunately, not all of the park is affected by poaching, incursions by armed groups, illegal exploitation of the park's mineral resources, bush fires, and deforestation.

The site (1947) includes several relatively well-preserved colonial-era buildings, including the superb mansion with period woodwork, which includes a small museum with old jars and animal bones. Visitors' villas overlook the lake, including the pavilion where King Leopold III stayed in the 50s. And, of course, the reserve, home to superb specimens of trees and vegetation along paths from which monkeys and birds can be spotted.

The Ngiri Triangle Nature Reserve, created in 2011, has an area of 100,000 hectares. It is located at the confluence of the Ubangui River and the Congo River, in the south of the province. This reserve, which is home to many animal and plant species, has the mission of protecting biodiversity and the ecosystem in the Ngiri triangle. One of the last groups of hippos in the country, buffalos, elephants and primates live there. A community component involving local populations has been set up to limit the impact on the area.

Ecosystem ecosystem

This reserve was created in 2006 but its actual opening dates back to 2011. Its management and protection is the responsibility of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), with the assistance of external partners including WWF. The area is 750 000 hectares. It takes its name from Tumba Lake and the Lediima River which runs through it. This reserve is situated in the "Lac Télé-Lac Tumba" ecosystem on the Congo Brazza and the DRC, which also counts the scientific reserve of Mabali, the reserve of the Ngiri (marsh zone in the South-Ubangi) and the reserve of Lake Télé in Congo Brazza. It covers the territories of Bikoro, Lokolela and Inongo (horse on Bandundu province).

Protected species

The purpose of the creation of the reserve is to protect the biodiversity of this lake area, both in the maintenance of its forest cover and in the preservation of threatened animal species such as the elephant (which was thought extinct), the bonobo (several thousands of nests there were inventoried), the buffalo, the Hartlaub duck, the Congolese peacock, various antelopes and primates, many species. birds (parrots)…

Community dynamics

All in a dynamic, including local communities, through the establishment of local natural resource management committees within the villages surrounding the lake (monitoring fishing, improving fish processing…). Moreover, the reserve management plan provides for the reserve, a sustainable area for villagers, alongside protected areas as such. The main pressures and threats to the work are the same as elsewhere: poaching, logging, illegal fishing and demographic pressure.

Access

To get there, drive the expressway by fast canoe until Lokolela (count +/8 hours from Mbandaka). In motorized canoe, count 1 full day and a budget of $ 250 + provide for provisions. From Lokolela, to the station (60 km), choose the bike ($ 100 go/return), speaking to the Kawa coffee plantation 5 km from Lokolela (Mr Georges Nemes: 081 691 81 46). The plantation can also be visited, and you can stay there on the edge of the river. Accommodation is also possible on the reserve.

For all inquiries, please contact the ICCN in Kinshasa or Mbandaka: right of entry, provision of equipment (tents, inflatable mattresses, armed guards…). Who can also assist you in transport from Mbandaka. Or via the head of the site (contact details above) preferably by email, due to a telephone network on the reserve.

Situated 40 kilometres east of Mbandaka, this lake is accessible from the rivers Ruki and Libele, with its meanders bordering the equatorial forest. The lake has a population of hippos and many birds.

Created in 1956, the park was extended in the 1970s. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1984. Salonga Park is located in the Monkoto territory, straddling the Tshuapa, Equateur and Kasai provinces, in the heart of the central Congo River basin. The complex is divided into two sections (North and South) covering an area of 3.6 million hectares, mainly covered by lowland primary forests.

A priceless intact heritage. It is also the largest protected area of dense rainforest on the African continent. Several rivers flow through the vast swampy areas and forest galleries, including the Salonga, which gives it its name. Accessible by water, this vast park is home to some of the DRC's most emblematic species: the bonobo, the forest elephant, the Congo peacock, the African gharial, the salt-fishing owl, the giant pangolin, the leopard, the hippopotamus and many more. All of this in a relatively untouched forest area, including zones that are still unexplored to this day. It also plays a fundamental role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration mechanisms. This makes it of outstanding universal value. The park's biodiversity is unique in Central Africa.

Conservation and threats. The park's size and isolation make it difficult to protect natural species (ivory trafficking, bushmeat, etc.) and their natural habitat (bushfires, illegal logging, etc.). One third of the park's southern sector is home to groups of Pygmies. The stakes involved in conserving this exceptional heritage are therefore particularly high, and now more than ever, protection measures need to be stepped up and the appropriate resources put in place. The integration of local communities living in the corridor between the two sectors of the park is an important condition for safeguarding the park and its natural resources.

Access. The visitor center is located in Monkoto. To get there, it takes two or three days from Boende to Monkoto, crossing various rivers in ferries. Or one day by fast canoe. On site, allow at least 5 days for several forest outings, accompanied by park trackers. For accommodation, you can stay in the Etate village in the WCS NGO camp. Organized tours are available from Kinshasa via Danico Tours (+243 81 68 58 699).

Created in 2006, this reserve covers an area of 362,500 hectares. It is accessed through Basankusu, 200 km from Mbandaka. The reserve is part of the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba forest landscape, and adjoins the Lomako forest. The forest zone covers 80% of the reserve's surface area, while the remaining 20% is made up of swampy areas. The interest of this reserve lies in the presence of a large number of bonobos, among many other typical species.