DR Congo Safaris
Formerly known as Zaire, Discover Congo on our amazing Congo Safaris and Tours. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (well-known as the DRC) is located in equatorial West Africa. Dominated by the world’s second-largest rainforest, which stretches across hundreds of thousands of miles of the Congo River Basin, with glacial mountains and savannah elsewhere, the DRC is enormous and supports a staggering array of wildlife and cultures.
Major destinations to include on your itinerary
– Virunga national park
This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Virunga is the continent’s most biologically diverse protected area and a national park embarking on an ambitious development program known as the “Virunga Alliance”. It’s a home to the famous Nyiragongo volcano and the Mountain Gorillas.
Virunga is one of the world’s most biodiverse treasures and Africa’s oldest National Park. It’s home to more mammal, bird and reptile species than any other protected areas on the planet – including three extraordinary taxa of Great Apes.
-Nyiragongo Volcano
Nyiragongo is a beautiful stratovolcano comprising the world’s largest lava lake. The volcano’s lower forested slopes are home to a variety of animals, including chimpanzees, several species of monkey, the three-horned chameleon, bushbuck and a myriad of bird species, making the walk to the top of this mighty mountain all the more gratifying.
– Kahuzi Biega National Park – Home of Low Land Gorillas
The PNKB was created to protect the Eastern Plains Gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) which are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is one of the three important protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity of the “Albertine Rift” with 136 species of large mammals (including 15 endemics to the Albertine Rift), 335 species of birds including 29 endemics, 69 species of reptiles including 7 endemic, 44 amphibians including 13 endemic, 1171 plant species including 218 endemic (Hall et al., 1997; Plumptre et al., 2003). The PNKB has three charismatic species among the large mammals: The Gorilla, the Chimpanzee and the Elephant. But the Park is also home to the Forest Buffalo, the Leopard or even the Bongo, the Sitatunga and the Hylochère. In the 1990s, 86% of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla populations occupied the PNKB (Plumptre et al. 2010).
This gorilla population has fluctuated in recent decades, especially in the high altitude part where regular inventories are conducted (Omari 2000, Liengola et al. 2004, Amsini et al. 2008, Plumptre et al. 2010). In the eastern part of the Park, 223 gorillas were recorded in 1979 (14 families and 5 solitary males), 258 individuals (25 groups with 9 solitary males) counted in 1990 and this figure remained stationary until 1996. However, the Biological inventory carried out in the high altitude part of the Park in February 2001 revealed the presence of 130 individuals. The 2010 inventories counted 181 individuals divided into 17 groups against 168 in 2004 with 15 groups (Plumptre et al. 2010).
Formerly known as Zaire, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (well-known as the DRC) is located in equatorial West Africa. Dominated by the world’s second-largest rainforest, which stretches across hundreds of thousands of miles of the Congo River Basin, with glacial mountains and savannah elsewhere, the DRC is enormous and supports a staggering array of wildlife and cultures.
Major destinations to include on your itinerary
– Virunga national park
This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Virunga is the continent’s most biologically diverse protected area and a national park embarking on an ambitious development programme known as the “Virunga Alliance”. It’s a home to the famous Nyiragongo volcano and the Mountain Gorillas.
Virunga is one of the world’s most biodiverse treasures and Africa’s oldest National Park. It’s home to more mammal, bird and reptile species than any other protected areas on the planet – including three extraordinary taxa of Great Apes.
-Nyiragongo Volcano
Nyiragongo is a beautiful stratovolcano comprising the world’s largest lava lake. The volcano’s lower forested slopes are home to a variety of animals, including chimpanzees, several species of monkey, the three-horned chameleon, bushbuck and a myriad of bird species, making the walk to the top of this mighty mountain all the more gratifying.
– Kahuzi Biega National Park – Home of Low Land Gorillas
The PNKB was created to protect the Eastern Plains Gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) which are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is one of the three important protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity of the “Albertine Rift” with 136 species of large mammals (including 15 endemics to the Albertine Rift), 335 species of birds including 29 endemics, 69 species of reptiles including 7 endemic, 44 amphibians including 13 endemic, 1171 plant species including 218 endemic (Hall et al., 1997; Plumptre et al., 2003). The PNKB has three charismatic species among the large mammals: The Gorilla, the Chimpanzee and the Elephant. But the Park is also home to the Forest Buffalo, the Leopard or even the Bongo, the Sitatunga and the Hylochère. In the 1990s, 86% of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla populations occupied the PNKB (Plumptre et al. 2010).
This gorilla population has fluctuated in recent decades, especially in the high altitude part where regular inventories are conducted (Omari 2000, Liengola et al. 2004, Amsini et al. 2008, Plumptre et al. 2010). In the eastern part of the Park, 223 gorillas were recorded in 1979 (14 families and 5 solitary males), 258 individuals (25 groups with 9 solitary males) counted in 1990 and this figure remained stationary until 1996. However, the Biological inventory carried out in the high altitude part of the Park in February 2001 revealed the presence of 130 individuals. The 2010 inventories counted 181 individuals divided into 17 groups against 168 in 2004 with 15 groups (Plumptre et al. 2010).
