Gorillas, Chimpanzees and the Congo River

Arrival at Brazzaville Maya Maya international airport, welcome and transfer to hotel BrazzavilleRiviera for diner and night.

After breakfast, it will be a day dedicated to visit Brazzaville, the capital of the country founded by the exploratory Savorgnan de Brazza in 1880. On board aspeedboat, we will sail on the mythical Congo River, which with its 4 614 km (of which about 700 km in the republic ofCongo) is the second longest river Africa and the largest in terms of flow. Along its waters the life of the city comes alive, among fisherman, washerwomen…. Lunch in a restaurant. Afternoon, we visit the rapids on the Congo River, the St Anne’s Basilica, with its 22-meter-high vaults and emerald coloured roof, designed in 1943 by Roger Erell as a synthesis of Franco – African architecture. The colourful total market, rich in fruit and vegetables, busting with passersby and noise street vendors, the memorial dedicated to the Italian explorer Pierre de Savorgnan de Brazza, humanist and slave liberator for some, colonizer according to others. In the evening, we will meet the gentlemen of Bacongo, members of the SAPE (Societe des Ambianceurs et personnes

Elegantes), a club of people who share a taste for elegance, appearance and exhibitionism, in a festive and fashionable trend that has developed between Brazza and Kinshasa, where Avenue Matsua is the catwalk where this glittering manifestation of urban and popular culture is paraded. Accommodation at Hotel Riviera. Dinner and night in double rooms with services.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the Lesion Louna reserve, a 650 000 hectares protected natural area established in the 1950, but where poaching has raged, causing a drastic decrease in the buffalo and forest elephant population. Among others, you can spot antelopes, jackals and potamoceros ( a species of reddish African wild boar). The park’s greatest interest, however, is the gorilla protection project (PPG) set up by the Aspinall Foundation in the 1990s. western lowland gorillas (gorillas gorillas) are estimated at 3 000 in the Republic of Congo, and are a species at high risk of extinction due to deforestation and poaching. The specimens in the reserve have been rescued from illegal trafficking and live in five groups in the hills, savannahs and forests. Observation of gorillas and magnificent views of the blue lake. Lunch and return to Brazzaville in the afternoon. Dinner and night at Hotel

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the district of Bouenza. Arrival at the Nkila Ntari Caves, located in a truly magnificent natural setting, where you can descent through a Natural tunnel almost a kilometer long while admiring stalactes and stalagmites. Lunch and continue to Dolesie, a placid twon with an elegant colonial town centre, surrounded by hills and the beautiful landscapes of the Mayombe. Accommodation at Hotel KM or similar. Dinner and night in double room.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure north to the banks of Niari River, appreciating the landscapes of Mayombe, a region of low mountains stretching from Gabon to the angola enclave of Cabinda. Here, surrounded by lush primeval forest, we will participate in a canoe experience in what is known as the Blue river, in one of the most impressive natural settings in Central Africa. Lunch and return to Dolesie. Diner and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel and walk to the Dolesie market. Departure for Dimonika, a small village with a glorious past, the center of gold mining in the country, which preserves numerous vestiges of this period, such as abandoned mines, tunnels, old machinery, …. The search for precious metal is still carried out today in an artisanal manner, and here you will be able to observe the miners who, armed with rudimentary tools, dig holes in the ground in the hope of finding the nugget that can change their destiny. Lunch at Auberge Vigouroux or similar, the former Armand Vigouroux, who moved to the village in 1940 after gold prospecting and turned it into a town with water, electricity, a school and even a cinema. His retro – style house has been converted into a gashouse that allows visitors to relive the atmosphere of yesteryear. Dinner and overnight stay in double room with shared bathroom for a group only.

After breakfast, depart for Bilinga, with a photo at the gate of Mayombe, where the country’s first railway tunnel is located. We will board a vintage train

(draisine) which will take us to Pointe Noire, Congo’s main coastal port. Lunch. Stroll through the streets of the town, where the CFCO train station

built in the 1930’s. accommodation at the Malonda Lodge or similar, located on the Atlantic Ocean. Time at leisure to relax on the fine sandy beach or by the pool. Dinner and overnight stay in double room with services.

Breakfast at the lodge and transfer to Conkouati – Douli Park, located about one hundred kilometers from Pointe Noire in the direction of the Gabon border, where you will find the Conkouati Lagoon, open to the ocean and home to both freshwater fish. This protected area is home to manatees and sea turtles, including the lute turtle, the largest species of sea turtle, which can be reach 2 meters in length and 250 kgs in weight, and which finds ideal nesting habitat here. Mammals are also present : forest elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, but also chimpenzees. Lunch . in the afternoon, the first forest safari. Accommodation at Conkouati Lodge, diner and overnight stay in double rooms with shared bathroom facilities for our group only

Breakfast at the lodge and a day dedicated to exploring Conkouati – Douli Park. We will cruise the Ngongo river, observe chimpanzees on boat excursion, and go on 4 x 4 safari through savannah and forest in search of wildlife. Lunch and return to the Lodge for dinner and night.

After breakfast, departure in the direction of Pointe Noire. On the way, we visit the Diosso Gorges, where rain erosion in the laterite has shaped deep of sparkling red colour over time, and the museum of the Maloango, the former palace of the last king of Loango, Moe Poaty III, ruler of a powerful kingdom. Lunch at local restaurant. Arrival in Pointe Noire, accommodation at the Hotel Saint Jean or similar. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight stay in double rooms with services

Breakfast and transfer to the airport in time for return to Brazzaville and formalities to your home with International flight and end of stay