Travel Guide Parc National D’upemba

Upemba National Park was created in 1939, covering an area of almost 1,200,000 ha. It features a variety of landscapes and ecosystems: valleys, shrub savannah, a grassy savannah plateau, high plateaus dotted with gallery forests and the great swampy valley of the Kamalondo depression, through which flows the Lualaba River, later to become the Congo River. This depression is home to lakes Upemba, Mulenda, Kabwe and Kayumba. The park boasts a wide variety of habitats that are home to a typical and varied fauna. Zebra, roan antelope, cape eland, hartebeest and greater kudu are all found in the highlands, while the savannahs are still home to herds of elephant, buffalo and antelope. The swamps are home to several species of waterfowl, including many palearctic migrants, as well as hippos and crocodiles. When it was created, it was one of the country's most biodiverse reserves, and one of the few places to be home to zebras and felines, such as the Upemba lion, renowned for its size. However, in 2004, the park was not spared the consequences of the country's civil unrest, for which it paid a heavy price (deforestation, poaching by Mai-Mai armed groups) to the point of threatening its survival.Great efforts have been made, but access to certain areas of the site remains difficult, even for teams specializing in animal census. But the rest more than makes up for it. ICCN is also studying the possibility of a repopulation program for the two Katanga parks, in agreement with the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The park also includes a number of lakes, waterfalls (Kayo, Ipera, Kwanza, Munte, Dikolongo, Kalule) and caves. Although the park's infrastructure is already in place (renovated guest house, upgraded roads, bridges, hydroelectric system), it has the potential to become a major tourist attraction with a few additional improvements. As elsewhere, you'll need a good vehicle to get there (around ten hours from Lubumbashi). Enter via Lubudi to the south, or Lusinga to the north (to enter the lakes area). Permit purchase and reservations at the ICCN liaison office in Lubumbashi or via a travel agency. ✆ +243 971 327 207 - www.upembanationalpark.com