Democratic Republic of Congo

 The Highlights

The Virunga Volcanoes

The Virunga National Park, formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7,800 square kilometre area stretching from the Virunga Mountains in the south, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North.  Here we recommend trekking to see the Mountain Gorillas as well as chimpanzees and visiting Mount Nyiragongo, an active stratovolcano standing at 3,470 metres above sea level and part of the Albertine Rift valley.

Kahuzi-Biega National Park

A protected area close to Bukavu town in Eastern DRC, Kahuzi-Biega National Park is close to the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and well worth visiting in order to trek in search of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla.

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes, lying on the border of the DRC and Rwanda.  We highly recommend a boat trip on the lake where you can spot the animal and birdlife and learn about the Albertine Rift (the western branch of the East African Rift Valley) and the fascinating geography of the area.

Ituri Forest

Ituri is a dense tropical rainforest lying on the northeastern lip of the Congo River basin in the DRC.  Here you can visit the Congo Pygmy tribes - also described as African foragers, African rainforest hunter gatherers or the forest people of Central Africa.  The Pygmy tribe subsist through foraging and hunter-gathering and are native to Central Africa, residing mostly in the Congo basin.