Natural Crafts Democratic Republic Of The Congo

Seli Safari Zongo is located along the Inkisi River, not far from the famous Zongo Falls, 135 km from Kinshasa. The facilities and rooms are modern. An excellent place to relax. The waterfalls that fall with a thundering sound from a height of 67 meters impress the visitor and refresh from head to toe. The visit can be completed with a walk in the surrounding forest and swimming in the pool or in the lnkisi river. A short walk to the place where the Inkisi River flows into the river is picturesque and wild.

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.

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.