Travel Guide Parc National De La Salonga

Created in 1970, the Salonga Park covers an area of 3.6 million hectares, mainly covered by lowland primary forests (roughly 2.7% of the DRC's total tropical forests), and has been classified as a World Heritage Site since 1980. It is also the largest tropical forest nature reserve on the planet. At the heart of the central Congo River basin, the park is very isolated, accessible only by water or small carriers for mineral plunderers. It is home to several endemic and threatened species, including the dwarf chimpanzee, the Congo peacock, the forest elephant and the African gharial. Its most exceptional animal is the bonobo. The park's biodiversity, not yet fully inventoried, is one of the most remarkable to be found in the tropics. The European Union is carrying out a major project to conserve Central African forest ecosystems, in collaboration with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). The park's size and isolation make it difficult to protect the natural species that inhabit it. Professional poachers are linked to military and commercial interests. They are well-armed and well-organized. It is thought that the elephant population that has survived poaching could certainly regenerate if the park were better protected.