Tourist Attractions & Monuments Democratic Republic Of The Congo

Another hill with a view of the city and the installations of Gécamines, owner of the site. It serves as a memorial to the copper eaters who worked the red metal long before the arrival of the Belgians. In 1975, a statue was erected on this hill made up of embankments, in homage to these ancestral craftsmen. There is also the tomb of a director and some remains of installations dating from the time when Saint Eloi was celebrated.

The Marian domain of Likasi is a hill at the entrance of the city topped by a large cross with a Marian grotto. Local pilgrims come here to pray the rosary on the steps leading to the statue of the Virgin. For the others, it is the occasion of a short and pretty walk with a magnificent panorama on the city and the mining installations of the surroundings. All tinted with the ochre color characteristic of the region. At the departure as well as at the arrival, you will be escorted by a bunch of smiling local children..

In 1482, Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão discovered the mouth of the Congo River. It was on this occasion that he had the following engraved on a rock: "Here arrived the ships of the most enlightened king Dom Jean II of Portugal. Diogo Cão". Two years later, Diogo Cão returned, accompanied by a team of missionaries. He disembarked at Mpinda, a small port close to the river mouth. A European way of life was to be introduced and remain in the area until Portugal abandoned it in favor of Angola. Four centuries later, in 1879, Stanley arrived.

The Lomami National Park covers an area of 887,000 hectares. It straddles the provinces of Tshopo and Maniema with a slight overlap in the forests of the Tshuapa and Lualaba river basins. The national park was officially opened on July 19, 2016. It is the ^9th national park in the country and the first to be established since 1992. And it includes the Lomami-Lualaba Wildlife Reserve. In Maniema, it occupies part of the Kailo territory, in the Balanga and Bangengele sector. In addition, they are invited to become involved in the initiative, as in the case of the integrated conservation models and community projects developed by ICCN in its other natural parks. The project - initiated by John and Terese Hart, a couple of American biologists who have been in the Congo for more than 40 years - that led to the creation of the park and is still ongoing today, is called TL2, named after the three rivers that form the borders of the park: Tshuapa, Lomami and Lualaba. The initial goal of TL2 was to determine how many bonobos still live in the pristine forests in the heart of Congo bounded by these three rivers, as well as to survey other large animals, and to identify threats to these species in order to protect them. It appeared that in addition to bonobos, okapi, Congolese peacocks and forest elephants have also found refuge there, and there is even talk of a new species of monkey..

The originality of this stone lies in the natural and completely improbable superposition of a second (large) stone tilted and placed in unstable balance, but which does not fall. The stone of Mwa Kandala obviously nourishes many myths and is revered locally.

The Dipera Falls (about ten metres high), on the North Kalule River, are a priori accessible, to be combined with the nearby Kayo Falls (within the Upemba Park), and the Falls on the South Kalule (Dikolongo and Kawa).

Among the other falls for the moment inaccessible:

the 20-metre-high Kamwanga Falls, which was accessible until the 1980s up the North Kalule River. It is the third part of a fall apparently described as "much more important and spectacular". This fall is represented on a national currency note.

kabundji Falls from a height of 120 meters, located on the South Kalule, about fifteen kilometers from Lubudi.

The old records also mention the fall of the North Kalule, 42 kilometres from Lubudi on the Bukama road, and the fall of the Lubudi.

Without doubt one of the most impressive on the North Kalule River, Kayo Falls (80 meters high) is a small jewel set between lush vegetation and this rocky cliff so particular with its structure similar to a giant mille-feuilles. The access to the foot of the waterfall starts from the park office, which serves as a small lodge. The descent is delicate because made slippery by the permanent drizzle. But the result is clearly worth the effort to admire all the force that emerges from these quantities of water thrown with fracas on the rocks.

15 kilometres from Lubudi, upstream of Dikolongo (at the junction, on the left), still on the South Kalule, are the powerful Kawa Falls (+/- 90 m high) which flow in three levels. A moving show that you can't get enough of. Access is via a small path along the river, dotted with electric pylons and charming streetlights from the colony. The former staff house and especially the buildings of the power station itself are worth a look. It is possible to visit the installation and the tools permanently at a standstill but which remain impressive. Everything has remained in place since the closure in 2005....

The surroundings of Lubudi are also full of caves, which would delight speleologists and informed visitors, in a register of niche tourism-adventure. The province is considering making them accessible and conducting preliminary explorations. Because there are still many things to discover!

The Kyantapo cave (within the Upemba Park) was classified at the time as a tourist site because of the sculptures of unknown age it apparently contained. Although currently difficult to access, it is identified by local officials, and a prior ceremony is obviously necessary to enter it.

The cave of Kando has a Dantean entrance"and would end in a lake containing blind fish....

The Mpalaba cave, on the other hand, would extend for kilometres and would also end in an important lake, but with access already considered difficult at the time...

Of less interest is also the Kiama Kende cave.

Salt springs are also mentioned near the Mokabe-Kasari road

The Dikolongo Falls, about 45 metres high, are located 11 km from Lubudi on the South Kalule River. It is wide and discharges the river in a single fall. The access is not easy but the show is worth the detour! This river has been developed for the two hydroelectric power plants necessary for the operation of the Cimenkat. Two possibilities to admire the falls: from below, for an impressive show, with guaranteed freshness and humidity because given the flow in the rainy season we get copious rinses.... Or from above, by climbing the 200 steps to reach the dam that operated the plant. The Dikolongo reservoir (150 ha) is a bird paradise and serves as a resting place for many migrants. For fishing enthusiasts, note that it is full of tilapia. On the road, admire the old, undeveloped houses of the Cimenkat's executives.

Reservations are essential for purchasing permits. Either directly with the office, or through a travel agency. The agency can also provide transport to the various sites and organize a visit from Goma to Mont Ruwenzori, accessible from the town of Beni.

Located along the Rwandan and Ugandan borders, the Virunga National Park (PNVi) is Africa's oldest park (originally the Albert National Park, created in 1925). It covers an area of 785,000 hectares and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (in danger). It boasts an incredible variety of landscapes: active and extinct volcanoes; the Semliki rainforest; mountain forests; the glaciers and snow of Ruwenzori (the country's highest point and third highest on the continent); the grassy savannahs of Rwindi; and a multitude of swamps, lakes and rivers, including Lake Edward on the border with Uganda.

Its biodiversity is the richest on the African continent. It is home to numerous animal species, most of them endemic and threatened with extinction: over 700 species of birds and almost 220 species of mammals. Among the emblematic species spread across the park's various biotopes are: okapi, lion, buffalo, elephant, hippopotamus, antelope, warthog, serval... And of course the famous primates, of which the park is home to 22 species, including three varieties of great ape - unique among all the world's protected areas: the mountain gorilla, a few specimens of the lowland gorilla (the majority of which are found in the neighbouring Kahuzi-Biega park in South Kivu) and the chimpanzee.

But the Virunga Park has paid a heavy price for the war that took place inside the park in the 2000s, resulting in the severe destruction of the natural environment, systematic poaching and the death of many rangers. Even today, the Virunga region continues to be affected by armed conflict and political instability. This forces the authorities at times to partially or completely close the park and suspend tourist activities.

It is therefore essential to follow travel advisories issued by the relevant authorities, consult the latest information on the security situation and contact local travel agencies or tourism operators for up-to-date information before planning a visit.