Things to see and do Central African Republic

At the first intersection, an end-of-life fire stands ahead of the entrance of this ancient sanctuary, while huge Chinese bamboo montent over the other side. An imposing portal in rusty iron, vestiges of past splendour, serves as the main access. By this entry would enter all guests, but only the family of Bokassa had the right to borrow it. A first buffer zone, before crossing the walls of the Imperial Court, is still inhabited by the military, the court having been recycled into training and training centres for young recruits.
The roads are still there, the lights too, but the light bulbs like tracing on the ground have been missing for so long that the time seems to have stopped in Bérengo. Accompanied by the Chief of the military, the visitor finally enters the holy saints, where he suddenly finds himself almost nose with the immense metal statue of Bokassa. She has remained before her grave since it was removed from her base, as if she had been thrown out of the sky. Behind the statue, a huge white stele is dotted with some colorful plastic flowers. Here we are in the "lounge", symbolizing the entrance of the grave of Bokassa, whose skeleton is actually in the "chamber", after a long maze of underground. On the right, the ruins of the first house he built being a young soldier still standing, but there remains only the facade. On the left, the entrance of the large imperial courtyard is surmounted by a sun in rusty metal. In the interior, the Treasury building was accessible only by an underground, one of the secret tracks of which the entire basement is full. The former Council of Ministers, a few tens of metres, was also connected to underground for a failure in the event of force majeure. But the chances of getting one day the plans are minimal, Bokassa having executed most of the masters of work…

The first house, in the form of a boat and nicknamed the boat Saint-Sylvester - now inhabited by the military - housed his second wife. Just across the way, the old rotting wooden chalet was called Villa Mbata: Bokassa alone slept here. The most majestic house is its first woman, Catherine, who is still at the bottom of the courtyard, facing an Olympic swimming pool now filled with a brackish swamp, in which the metal reinforcement of a brinquebalant slide is poured. The splendeurs have been plundered, but the military are always inclined to evoke, with emotion, the memory of the good of yesteryear.

A broad white structure in the futuristic style of the 1970 s, this kitsch package finally houses a small carved wooden bust protected by a glass cage. A throne stone in her center, but, according to the villagers, Boganda is not buried here. The mausoleum, guarded by two fountains whose greenish water indicates that it has not from for a long time, is always good, given the road, and systematically provokes the interest of the Central Africans. Make sure to respect the speed limitation at 30 km/h in front of the mausoleum.

It is essential to get there to get the right information. 

The engravings, which are on the ground on large flat rocks, are difficult to access and rare are those who know their precise location. To be sure to find them, it is better to ask Sister Cristina to accompany you, or go to the village of Lengo where teacher Paul will find them.

For travellers who have already had the chance to travel north of Benin and the Somba country, the sultan's «tata» will not be a real discovery, since it presents similar architecture and thus bears the same name. Although built in the th century, this palace retained its original configuration thanks to remarkably conserved remains. Some walls, built with conical bricks, are particularly resistant to the whims of nature. Built on the plateau of the hill overlooking Ndélé, the Tata was the nerve centre of the slave trade organized by the sultan, who, from his palace, supplied the markets in North Africa, Sudan, Egypt and the Middle East. While Gorée Island in Senegal was one of the western traffic hubs, Sultan Sonosi's tata had exactly the same role for the East. As a centre for international traffic, his court saw men, women and children from all geographical and cultural backgrounds, traders, slaves, property dealers… Place of Civilizational brassage, the location of the Tata was not randomly chosen: to the northwest, a chain of hills, to the south and southeast, the Ndélé River called Méagoulou. The entrance is secure with a natural opening of about 6 m wide. Inside, life in autarky was possible in the event of an attack. The main residence of the sultan is on the bottom, jouxtée by the home of the household and the house of his first wife, Umm Diwan, followed by those of the other wives. Moving the sons of the Sultan, Djemel-Heddine and Kamoun, lies north of their father's residence. In the foreground, as a bulwark in the main building, we can see the houses of Allah Djaba, which was one of the sultan's main lieutenants, and his eldest son, Adoum. In the north-east, it is the neighborhood of craftsmen, such as Faki Issa, but also that of chiefs banda, blacksmiths, like chef Gbaga Yanda, famous dealer of the time. Inside the tata is also the descendants area of the Robes. The residence of Mercuri, French who lived with Sultan Sonosi, is in the west. Finally, in the north-west, there is the firing field, connected by a long underground corridor to the executing chamber and castration of the eunuchs. On a part of the plateau that borders on the terrace, villages were built that brought together many ethnic groups, such as the Bazinguer Krech, Kara, Rounga, etc. On another Portion of the Plains, some Muslim families and other populations have settled, such as Banda, Sara, Rounga, Ndouka, Djémé… The site has been subjected to the indicative list. UNESCO property.

At the end of the th century, while Sultan Sonosi was carrying out real slave raids throughout the Ndélé region and beyond, many of the Gbaga villagers were refugees in the Kaga-Kpongouvou caves, which obstruaient all access routes with large slabs. Situated 40 km from Bamingui on the road of Ndélé, between the villages of Dangavo and Bangoran, the site appears as a massive granite hill, about 300 m of circumference and high of metres, the breakthrough of several perceptible cavities on the sides of the hill. The main is/southeast oriented. Some pottery and crafts dating back to that time were discovered inside, confirming the presence of the refugees who became revolutionary in the face of the massacre of the «eastern slave». At the heart of the Bamingui-Bangoran reserve, the Kaga-Kpoungouvou caves are protected from human damage through conservation measures in the park. Ban on hunting wildlife, exploiting the wood or establishing stone quarries.

3 km from the Catholic Church, you can reach on foot in three quarters of the hour the crystal clear water of a river that breaks between large stones heated by the sun. A little lower, a large pond in the shade calls for bathing. A wooden cabin, overlooking a broken tire wheel, contains an old generator that once fueled Bakouma's mission in electricity. Pending its release, solar panels offer a few hours of lighting to those who sit there.

It is possible to have information at this office, located at the entrance to the Doli Lodge.

The lodge on the Island of the Red Buffalo offers all the above activities (hippos, Descente descent), and more: overland hikes are also proposed, with the introduction of rainforest biodiversity and the discovery of its various media in all their aspects: flora, mammals and birds, butterflies, mushrooms… Mountain bikes are available to visit nearby villages, and kayaks allow to enjoy the forest from a new perspective. The discovery of the life of a forest operation provides an opportunity to better understand the different methods of valuing timber, while preserving the great forest. Hippos: 50 000 FCFA for a group of up to 9 persons. Descent from Mbaere: 50 000 FCFA if you have your vehicle, if not rent it to the Red Buffalo (CFAF 60 000 per day). Pygmies dance at the corner of the fire: 90 000 FCFA for the group.

Located in the heart of Ecofac, this ethnological museum lists the different species living in the forest, drawing drawings. It also features some impressive skulls of gorillas and hippos. A section of the museum is devoted to the Pygmies Bofi. With relative interest if you don't have time, the museum represents a good introduction to the Ngotto ecosystem, with interesting pieces such as these craft carabines seized to poachers (one understands why they often explode their hands), a hunting of pygmy children, about snakes preserved in formaldehyde. He finally proposed an interesting sampling of missing animals in the region, such as the lion, the flying squirrel or the black rhino, the last specimen of which was killed by poachers in 1985.

At the end of a 20 km track, very poorly maintained, is the scientific camp of Pora, which, before, served as a base camp for poachers, starting point of the excursion. It is recommended from the campsite at 5 h or 6 h, because later, the animals flee the rays of the sun. You will have to leave your car and walk for a quarter of an hour. In any case, the services of a guide, recruited from Ecofac de Ngotto, will be required.

On a clear Serve, you slip without any other noise than the cries of animals and the sound of the rame, in the heart of the great equatorial forest, living and generous: on the other hand, immense vegetation walls reveal the silhouettes of the few galeritus monkeys and other cephus (from May to July, when the trees have yielded their fruits, the monkeys are particularly numerous) which jump from tree to tree at dizzying speed. But also wild ducks, varans, caïmans or others… You have to see them eating the fruits of the huge raphias that came into the water and seem to play the piano on the surface. In an aquatic maze, in an initiation walk in the heart of a rare and protected world, you will descend the Serve for almost 3 hours.

The place is certainly the one to visit first upon arrival in the city. The staff knows all the sites of interest.

The hiking trails are not marked, but the rooms ensure that it is possible to walk there quietly. However, many poachers still haunt their slopes (there is hardly any monkey left), while others plant anarchic cultures that accelerate erosion. According to local authorities, walking in the mountain is not dangerous. Everyone is a judge, but caution must always be imposed. Towards the southwest, towards Cameroon, lies the waterfall and the gorges of the Kadéï. Learn about their accessibility to the Tourist Information Office.

Two types of extraction, gold and diamond are practised in Nola, and are the most popular profession in the corner. Diamond and gold extractors are concentrated on the banks of the Sangha River, where the Kadéï and Mambéré give birth. At the football field level, turn right and continue to the pier. Next door is the outdoor slaughterhouse and, just behind, on the outskirts of the wooded area, the "parking park" of the prisoners of gold and diamond.

If some fortune researchers venture on foot in the forest, dig off the streams, most of the activities take place on the river, behind the outdoor abattoir. Nola has regained fame since February 2011 and the discovery by a young miner of a high-value rough diamond. Many young people work at the landing level, or on the other side of the bank, at the bottom of the mountain to the Monkeys and at the edge of the sawmill. Between the two banks, they have installed artisan dams, a variety of large pyramid screens of 3 m wide, at the base of which they are inlassablement to climb the desired gravel. Once their canoes have been filled, they wash on site or return to land. A moment always tinged with intense excitement. In dry season, when the depth of the river is smaller, researchers are more numerous, and can initiate you to their profession, bring you to discover their daily life on their boat. Diamond dealers work mainly from 10 h to 15 h. All are very enthusiastic and talk easily about their activity (it's free, but leave it at least 500 FCFA). 

Less impressive than that of gorillas and elephants, the visit of agile mangabés - little monkeys to long long-term members - evokes an incursion into a magical world: next to the river or in the heart of a clearing, some 120 mangabés evolve to less than 5 m. They sometimes get close, s, bickering, wash, wash, as if your presence and that of researchers almost didn't bother them. An activity to recommend in particular to young children, the journey to walk on foot being not very difficult. 

A forest company founded in 1974, the Scadplus is located 24 km from Mbaïki, accessible by an excellent trail that winds in the forest. Take the road on the left at the entrance to Mbaïki (follow the sign and leave the tar). At the next crossing, turn right towards Mongoussa (the left leads to Café-Machado and go to Mongoumba). The sawmill and veneer plant - from which the chimneys of the largest boiler in Africa emerge - overlook the Lobaye. It is possible to swim there, following the advice of the premises, and even to rent a canoe (about 1 500 FCFA) for a small walk on the river. Provide a picnic, as there is no accommodation structure on site.

At KP 30, on the road to Damara, there is a slightly harsh rise, but which offers a gentle stroll through nature. Twenty minutes is enough to access the summit, from where the landscape is impressive.

Piroguiers keep their boats available to visitors at the bottom of the Oubangui Hotel or to the Rock-Club, for walks on the Monkeys island (central island that has not seen monkeys for a long time) or to the rapids of the Oubangui. We can also row up to the Saint Paul des Rapids mission, whose conical roof of green copper bouteille the river. It is an opportunity to walk around the unfinished cathedral: huge concrete arcades abandoned due to lack of means.

The Plage beach, accessible only in dry season, can be reached by road: take the direction of Ngaragba in excess of the Oubangui Hotel. Follow the Centrale central prison and cross the Marché market. Arrive at a junction of several tracks, take that on the right for a good kilometre, to Landja. Then there are 9 km to go to reach the village of Pama, where you will have to pay a guide to drive you to the river, if you come there for the first time. In dry season, sand benches of all sizes allow to swim without risk. For the less sports, it is also possible to rent one of the little cabana mounted by the villagers on the water.

Between Bangui and Pissa, the asphalt road passes through the Boyali Agricultural Centre (PK 76). Approximately hectares of hectares of the old Bokassa farm were transferred to Chinese cooperation for agricultural experiments. Villagers work with the Chinese to cultivate many varieties of vegetables and rice (storm rice and irrigated rice) and raise some sixty pigs. A rice décortiqueuse was installed on the spot. The proceeds of this farm are sold almost entirely to the Chinese community in Bangui.

A small bridge that residents cross to go from one river from La to the other.