For this tour we have selected two of the best parks in all of Central Africa: Odzala National Park in Congo-Brazzaville and Dzanga Sangha in the Central African Republic. This expedition will take you deep into the rainforests of Africa, giving you a deep insight into the daily life of the forest’s inhabitants, but also a great opportunity to experience the beauty of the African jungle. We will be on the lookout for large mammals such as primates, especially gorillas, forest elephants, buffaloes, red river hogs, duikers, sitatungas, bongos, but also genets, civets, porcupines, pottos, galagos, squirrels and others.

Our journey will start in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, from where we’ll go to the town of Etoumbi. Once we’re in Etoumbi, we’ll take a 4×4 to a guesthouse bordering the Odzala National Park, where we will explore the park for the next few days. We’ll then make our way north to the town of Ouesso, from where we will take a boat to Bayanga, a village in the Central African Republic and home to many Ba’ka members. In Dzanga Sangha we will stay in Doli Lodge, which will be the base camp for the next few days. We will use the viewing platform near Sangha Bai to observe and photograph animals such as elephants and buffaloes and will also do some gorilla tracking and forest exploration.

Odzala-Kokoua National Park is the most famous and one of the most beautiful parks in Congo-Brazzaville. Odzala consists mainly of pristine rainforest, but also has some savanna. The park even used to have lions, but they are most likely all extinct by now. Many gorillas died during an ebola outbreak and the park suffered heavy losses from poachers. It was declared a national park in 2001 and has now been run by the WCS, African Parks and WWF in cooperation with the Congolese government. Things have slowly been improving and we can find a large variety of animals with more than 100 mammal species and more than 20.000 gorillas. Next to gorillas, elephants, buffaloes and pangolins we can find chimpanzees, Angolan talapoin, greater spot-nosed monkey, mantled guereza, black crested mangabey, crested mona monkey, De Brazza monkey, Tana River mangabey and moustached guenons. There is also a good amount of sitatunga, bongo, duikers, civet, serval and even spotted hyena. 

After Odzala we’ll be in Dzanga Sangha, the flagship of the Central African Republic. Dzanga Sangha is a magnificent park which is extremely beautiful and home to many forest elephants and gorillas. The park is part of the Sangha Trinational together with Lobéké National Park in Cameroon and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. It was given the status of World Heritage. The park consists mainly of rainforest and has a few clearings in which we can see larger game. There is a comfortable viewing platform near the Dzanga Bai from where we can see large groups of elephants, as well as bongos, sitatungas, red river hogs, forest buffaloes and large flocks of African Grey parrots. 

Remember that you’re going to a country with little infrastructure so it is very important to be flexible. Heavy rainstorms and landslides can cause hold ups for instance, so it’s important to have at least two buffer days by the end of your journey to avoid any missed flights. In Odzala we’ll be in basic accommodation, but we’ll switch to a more comfortable lodge in Dzanga Sangha, where there is more infrastructure.

Please know that this expedition includes a lot of walking through dense rainforest. You don’t have to be an experienced hiker, but know that sometimes we do need to walk for a few hours, take off our shoes to go through a shallow stream and that you will have to be on your guard to not trip. During your travel you will encounter wildlife and have unique experiences such as gorilla tracking or seeing buffaloes and elephants. Know that wild animals are unpredictable and you have to take precautions and behave in a responsible way.

Find below the itinerary, note that some flexibility is needed.

Day 1: Brazzaville to Etoumbi

We will take a comfortable coach early in the morning and will have an interesting road to the town of Etoumbi, where we will stay overnight.

Day 2: Etoumbi – Odzala

We will switch for a 4×4 and then will go check in at our guesthouse near the Odzala National Park. We will already have our first exploration of the rainforest today.

Day 3, 4, 5: Odzala

The coming days we will go look for wildlife such as elephants, gorillas, monkeys and duikers in the forest. We will do some hiking, but also use a car and boat.

Day 6: Oyo

We will drive to  Oyo (or Owando), from where we will take a coach to the north of Congo: Ouesso, a beautiful town located near the Sangha River.

Day 8: Ouesso

We have today as a buffer day in case of delays and will take our time to explore the town and relax a little bit before our long boat transfer from Ouesso to Bayanga in the Central African Republic.

Day 9: Boat transfer from Ouesso to Bayanga

We have a beautiful boat transfer today starting from Ouesso, passing Pokola and then ascending on the Sangha River. Be on the lookout for hippos and birds such as African gray parrots, turacos and hornbills. We will arrive in Bayanga in the late evening and then you will be transferred to Doli Lodge in Dzanga Sangha.

Day 10: Gorilla Tracking in Dzanga Sangha

On our first day in Dzanga Sangha we will go look for a group of habituated western lowland gorillas. We will take a rapid covid-test and will then go on our hike. With a bit of luck we can find them pretty fast, but know it can sometimes take a few hours.

Don’t forget to bring a mask for the gorilla visit. 

Day 11: Dzanga Bai in Dzanga Sangha

We’ll have a beautiful day on the platform near the Dzanga Bai, a large clearing in the middle of the Dzanga Sangha forest from where we can observe and photograph large groups of elephants, bongo, sitatunga, giant forest hogs and buffaloes. It’s also a good spot for birding.

Day 12: Agile Mangabey Trackingk in Dzanga Sangha

We’ll go for a hike of 4 – 5 hours to search for a large group of mangabeys (around 150) . On the way might also see elephants, buffaloes, bongo, duikers and more. 

Day 13: Departure

Enjoy your last breakfast in Dzanga Sangha! End of tour.

Please, let us know how you’d like to go back, either Congo, Cameroon or Bangui and we’ll help you set it up.

Includes:

– Full board accommodation in the park

– All activities as described

– Pak entrance fees

Doesn’t include:
– Accommodation in Brazzaville, and Bangui
– Airport transfer in Brazzaville
– Meals and drinks outside of the parks
– Drinks
– Tips and gratuities

Have a look at some of our videos of our Dzanga Sangha trips!

We can ofcourse start this tour in Bangui, from where you can either rent a car through our agency or charter a flight through us to Bayanga and go to Dzanga Sangha. From Dzanga Sangha we can take you by boat transfer to Ouesso and from Ouesso you can then travel with us overland by car or by bus.