JUNGLE DEPTHS AND ATLANTIC HORIZONS
AUGUST 14 ⇾ AUGUST 22
In addition to our regular group departures to Congo, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Congo!
DAY 1 — POINTE NOIRE
Meet-and-greet at Pointe Noire International Airport, transfer to our accommodation in Pointe Noire, and introductory briefing about the region, the route and the set of rules to observe while travelling around the Congo.
Time permitting, the rest of the day will be devoted to a slow-paced first encounter with Pointe Noire, a thriving Atlantic metropolis and one of the most important cultural and economic centres of Central Africa.
Overnight in Pointe Noire.
DAY 2 — MAKOLA
Morning visit to the impressive salt glacier of Makola, a remnant of the now-defunct Congo Potassium Company.
On our way to Makola, we’ll also stop in the traditional town of Hinda to tour the colourful local market attracting hundreds of traders and buyers from the surrounding villages.
Afternoon transfer back to Pointe Noire for a lively night out on the town in the company of our Congolese guides.
Overnight in Pointe Noire.
DAY 3 — LOANGO BAY
Morning at your own leisure in Pointe Noire and afternoon transfer to the scenic Loango Bay, once home to a notorious slavery harbour and now popular retreat for Pointe Noire’s upper crust.
We will spend the rest of the day touring Diosso, the main town in the bay, once capital of the Loango Kingdom and now home to its rulers' mausoleum.
In the vicinity of Diosso we will then admire a soil-erosion-generated gorge known as the Grand Canyon of the Congo with distinctive ridges and red rock cliffs, which can reach up to 50m in height.
At sunset we will move to one of the many seaside restaurants scattered along the Loango coast to feast on freshly caught Atlantic lobsters and giant prawns.
Overnight in Pointe Noire.
DAY 4 — KOUILOU-NIARI
Today we’ll embark on an epic trip up to the Kouilou-Niari, the most important river flowing towards the Congolese Atlantic Coast.
In the morning we’ll pay a visit to the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary, part of the Jane Goodall Institute and the largest chimpanzee sanctuary on the African continent.
The unhurried journey along the Kouilou-Niari will then take us through a primeval landscape dotted with traditional fishing hamlets and end-of-the-world human outposts: perfect spots to enjoy a drink, a chat and some roasted fish together with the proud and gentle dwellers of the Congolese jungle.
Our final destination for the day will eventually be the remote village of Loaka, where we’ll spend the night in tents before continuing our eastward journey by road.
Overnight in Loaka.
DAY 5 — DIMONIKA
From Loaka we’ll connect to N6 Route and travel down to the Dimonika UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a lowland Guineo-Congolese rainforest covering the central Mayombe mountain range and harbouring a stunningly rich and wide variety of fauna including elephants, antelope, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos.
We’ll devote the entire day to reserve and also visit a few former mining hamlets lost in the jungle: decrepitly picturesque reminders of the Congolese gold rush.
Overnight in Dimonika.
DAY 6 — MADINGOU
From the jungle mining village of Dimonika we will travel further east towards Dolisie and Madingou, relatively large towns founded as transit stations on the Congo-Ocean Railway.
Dolisie and Madingou won’t probably be included in your must-see-places-before-you-die catalogue, but their colourful food markets and modernist architectural shapes make these sleepy provincial centres interesting stops on the long overland journey towards Brazzaville.
Overnight in Madingou.
DAY 7 — POOL
Early in the morning we’ll leave Madingou to cover the last leg of our long cross-country drive towards Brazzaville.
En route to the capital, we will traverse the notorious Pool Department, once home of a low-level insurgency led by Pasteur Ntumi, a clergyman who commanded a loosely organised group of armed Christian fanatics called the Ninjas.
Overnight in Brazzaville.
DAY 8 — BRAZZAVILLE
Full day devoted to the many cultural, anthropological and architectural hues of Brazzaville, a bustling megalopolis full of life, colour and chaos.
The list of highlights of our sojourn in Congo’s capital includes (but is not limited to): the modernist Sacre-Cœur Cathedral, the rationalist Hotel de Ville, the 1001-night-in-the-jungle Grand Mosque, the vertigo-inducing Nabemba Tower, the glorious Congolese Statue of Liberty, the stunning Fresque de la Révolution and a vast plethora of monumental remnants from a time when the country used to be a Soviet-aligned Cold-War pawn called République Populaire du Congo.
During our time in Brazzaville we will also have the unique chance to meet with the famed Congolese sapeurs, the eccentric members of a distinctive Central African subculture that embodies the elegance in style and manners of colonial dandies.
Overnight in Brazzaville.
DAY 9 — FORAY INTO THE DRC OR Odzala-KOKOUA EXTENSION
After having shared a last Congolese meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Brazzaville International Airport.
For those wishing to continue their sojourn in the heart of Africa, we can arrange for a post-tour extension to either the legendary Odzala-Kokoua National Park – a vast natural reserve in the north of the country harbouring more than one hundred mammalian species and one of the continent's most diverse primate populations – or the neighbouring DRC, the notorious Democratic Republic of the Congo, easy to reach via a short boat ride to Kinshasa.
Contact us to learn more about our bespoke tours to both the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
End of the tour.
2390 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Congo, domestic flights, entrance fees for the attractions listed in the itinerary, English-speaking guiding, tour designing, 24/7 in situ and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, meals, drinks and tips, visas if required, entrance to attractions not listed in the itinerary, insurance.
