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Congo Safari Tours – Congo Gorilla Trekking Safaris in Virunga & Kahuzi-Biega National Parks

Congo safaris typically offer Congo gorilla trekking safaris in Virunga National Park to walk with mountain gorillas and Kahuzi Biega National Park to trek and see lowland gorillas. On top of  Congo gorilla safaris, you can enjoy wildlife plus Mount Nyiragongo Volcano climbing Congo tours.

Congo is one of the rich African Safari destinations where Gorilla trekking in Africa can be done but not yet exploited. It still features her naturalness and authentic flavor in its range of encounters, including the Congo Gorilla Trekking Safari Tours.

Most people still feature their traditional setting, speaking their local languages, Kituba and Lingala, with French as the official language.

Gorilla Trekking Congo Safari

Gorilla Trekking Safaris and tours in Congo: Congo is home to the mountain gorillas and the eastern lowland gorillas in Virunga National Park in the North Kivu Province Goma Area and the Kahuzi Biega National Park in Bukavu South Kivu Province, respectively.

This combines to make it a unique destination, availing these two gorilla species for a human encounter. The gorilla trekking in Congo is coordinated by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, which has the mandate to sell gorilla permits apparently priced at $450.

Wildlife Safaris in Congo: Besides gorillas, Congo is blessed with amazing wildlife, including the okapi, which is only found here in the world over. This comes along with a range of elephants, the Sitatunga, buffalo, and the elusive bongo antelope.

When to take up a Congo Gorilla Trekking Safari Tour: Since the destination Congo straddles the world’s main latitude—the Equator, the climate is generally the same in the whole country with minor distinctiveness in the north and southern parts.

There are four (4) seasons that alternate between rainy and dry. The dry months include Jan to Feb and May to September, while the rainy season includes March to April and from October to December. Preferably, the best time to go on safari in Congo would be in the drier months.

Congo Safari Visa for a Congo gorilla trekking safari: The visas to Congo require an advance arrangement and the letter of invitation from the host people is needed.

When you book a Congo safari with a given tour operator, the letter of invitation can be arranged for you. The two-week advance visa application is advisable to allow enough time for visa processing.

Places to Visit in Congo Besides Congo Gorilla Trekking Safari

Tongo Hills as an Area of Interest on Safari in Congo: The Tongo Hills are marked by the dense jungle over 300 years old positioned on the top of the Nyamulagira Volcano lava flow, famous for its chimpanzee populations.

Though the chimpanzee habituation and tourism development commenced far back in 1987 with the direction of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the years of civil unrest rendered it dormant until 2010. The habituation has since been successful and the chimpanzee trekking in Congo is in progress.

River Congo as an Area of Interest in Congo Safari: Also known as the Zaire River, the Congo River is the world’s second-largest river by discharge following the Amazon in South America and the deepest river on a world scale, stretching up to 220 m.

The Congo River is 4,700 km, making it the 9th longest in the world if measured with Chambeshi River. It is notable for double-crossing the equator and its basin covers a surface area of 4 million km², about 13% of Africa’s continental landmass.

The drainage basin of the Congo River is 4,014,500 km², and its mouth discharge ranges from 23,000 to 75,000 m³ per second.

Nyiragongo Volcano as a place of interest for Congo safaris and tours: Nyiragongo Volcano is one of the beautiful and active volcanoes in the world in the neighborhoods of Lake Kivu close to the Rwandan border and Congo’s town of Goma.

Nyiragongo features a 1.2 km diameter summit caldera consisting of the most active and the largest lava lake in the world. This Congo Safari tour site is notorious for its extremely fluid lava which normally runs as water following the drainage of the lava lake.

This resulted in a series of disastrous eruptions, including the most recent one on 17th Jan 2002.

Congo Safari Tour Attractions, Congo Safaris tour Destinations

Virunga National Park;

Virunga National Park is the prime Congo gorilla trekking destination, positioned to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and a renowned World Heritage site.

Virunga is the oldest of all African parks and the most diverse of all parks on the same scale, covering 7800 km² of savannahs, dense forest, swamps, active volcanoes, glacial peaks, and lava plains. A quarter of the world‘s mountain gorillas thrive here.

Besides the mountain gorillas, Virunga features other great ape species, namely the chimpanzees and eastern lowland Gorillas. Read More

Kahuzi Biega National Park;

This is another Congo Gorilla Trekking Safari Tour site located in the South Kivu Province close to Bukavu town in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The park stands as an expanse of primary tropical forest marked by two (2) fascinating extinct volcanoes, namely Kahuzi and Biega.

Kahuzi Biega National Park was founded in 1970 by Adrien Deschryver—a Belgian conservationist and photographer known for its eastern lowland gorilla trekking, with one of the largest eastern lowland groups numbering 250 individuals. Read More

Mount Nyiragongo Volcano;

Nyiragongo Volcano is stunningly beautiful and inherently of great interest even to the geographical scientists and educationists. Standing at 3,470 m as the second last in the eight Virunga Mountains stretching from Uganda through Rwanda to Congo. Nyiragongo Volcano features the most violent lava lake, whose notorious eruptions have made a name worldwide.

At 20 km from Goma town, the 2002 Nyiragongo eruption saw its emitted lava destroy half of Goma town, leading to loss of life and property. The return climb to Mount Nyiragongo. Read More

River Congo as a notable Congo Safari Site;

The second largest river by discharge after the Amazon, the Congo River is a magical wonder worth exploring. This Congo Safari site is also the deepest river in the world (220m) and with the length of 4,700km if measured with the Chambeshi River becomes the 9th longest in the world.

The Congo River crosses the equator twice and features a four (4) million square kilometer surface area, approximately 13% of Africa’s landmass.  The Congo River has a drainage basin of 4,014,500 km², while discharge at its mouth stands at 23,000–75,000 m³ per second. Read More

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