Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Congo

Visitors on a Congo wildlife safari will bear witness to the stunning landscapes, endless green forest, water bodies and unique species like the elusive Okapi.

Don’t miss out on the Kahuzi-Biega National Park famous for habituated Lowland gorilla trekking. Unlike mountain gorillas, tracking eastern lowland gorillas is relatively easy. Gorilla Permits to Kahuzi Biega can be got on short notice and the need to trek long distances on steep mountain slopes is avoided. Apart from gorillas, visitors on Congo wildlife safari can go to spot elephants, chimpanzee and several species of antelope.

Visit Virunga National Park, the oldest park in Africa and was formed in 1925 to protect the mountain gorillas. Found near Congo’s border with Uganda and Rwanda, the park is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. The Stunning landscape and biological diversity found in Virunga National Park make it one of the most beautiful places to visit on earth.

The two main activities while on tour of the park are mountain gorilla trekking and hiking the Nyiragongo volcano. Visitors can choose to marvel at the forests, valleys, plains, Savannah and swamps or spot Lions, hippopotamus and over 400 bird species. After mountain gorilla trekking in the Virunga National Park, visitors on a Congo safari can pay a visit to the world’s only mountain gorilla orphanage, the Senkwekwe Gorilla Orphanage near the Mikeno Lodge.

Visit Mount Nyiragongo Volcano: The Nyiragongo volcano brightens the skies of Goma city and the Virunga National Park. The last eruption occurred in 2011 leaving over 100,000 homeless and surrounding areas filled with ash.

The solidified mountain of lava created the largest Crater Lake in the world that still sends smoke up the sky and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Trekking up the Nyiragongo Volcano is a two-day event that includes sleeping on top the volcano after being rewarded with a breath-taking close view of the boiling crater.

One of the attractive places to visit while in Kinshasa is the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary. Bonobos are endangered pygmy chimpanzees that in the wild are only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bonobos are relatively peaceful compared to their larger cousins but have faced great persecution and are hunted for their meat.

Covering a forest area of about 30 hectares, the sanctuary helps protect youngsters left orphaned after the killing of adults.  Staff and volunteers at the sanctuary feed them and protect them from being sold as pets in illegal markets.