Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Things to Do & Guided Safaris
Located in the center of Africa’s largest tropical rainforest, Odzala Kokoua National Park is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including Western lowland gorillas, forest elephant’s okapis, and 450 bird species, some of which are unique to the park. The park is a popular stop for tourists on Congo safaris and tours.
With an area of 13546 km2, Odzala National Park is one of Africa’s oldest national parks, having been gazetted in 1935 and later receiving biosphere reserve status in 1977. It’s a perfect blend of pristine rainforests, savannah grasslands, swamps, and rivers, and it’s home to a wide variety of critically endangered wildlife species.
Journey into the Congo: an Exploration of Odzala
Odzala Kokoua National Park and the Congo Basin
With an area of over two million square kilometers spread over six nations, the Congo Basin is home to 18% of the planet’s surviving tropical rainforest. More than 75 million people rely on the basin for essentials like water, food, and shelter, and despite the fact that humans have lived there for more than half a millennium, it remains one of the planet’s most biologically diverse and species-rich regions.
The Congo Basin, which encompasses more than two million square kilometers across six countries (Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon, and Dr. Congo), is home to the important biodiverse Odzala Kokoua National Park. The region is home to over 50,000 years of human habitation and accounts for 18% of the world’s remaining rainforest cover. In 2010, the governments of the Congo and Central African Republic signed an agreement with African Park, a private company, to manage this important wildlife park.
Things to Do in Odzala-Kokoua National Park
Along with the amazing wildlife watching, visitors on a Congo tour can engage in a wide range of other activities at Odzala National Park. This is what visitors to Odzala National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can do.
- Nature Walk
As you venture deeper into the forest, you will likely observe a variety of primate species and bird species at most of the places on your Congo tour. An experience site guide will help you gain more knowledge about the forest and its ecosystem. - Meet the rare gorillas
Statistics show that the population of forest elephants and Western lowland gorillas has been steadily increasing since 2010, when Africa Parks began conducting two annual surveys. - River boat tours
Guests can get a unique perspective of an African tropical forest as they paddle a wooden canoe around your property. You will succeed Before diving into the smaller, more intimate raffia waterways, we make our way through a flood-prone swampy woodland. Afterwards, we cross into a wide open swamp. Everyone is welcome to help with the Raffia wine harvest and sample the finished product. You have your choice of starting your lovely outing at three in the afternoon or first thing in the morning. - Meet the Ba`aka People
For centuries, the Ba’aka people have lived in harmony with the tropical rain forests of Central Africa, where they have been responsible stewards of the forest ecosystem. Hunting and gathering wild fruits are important parts of the Ba àka way of life, and the people have remained resistant to modernization. The Ba’aka tribe will be open to visitors and you may even spend the night camping among them.
Best Time to Visit Odzala Kokoua National Park
Roads are more easily passable in the dry season, which runs from May to September than in the rainy season when roads sometimes flood and animals often hide, hence visiting Congo is preferable during this time.
Odzala National Park boasts two dry seasons spread over two separate areas. Whereas in the northern section the dry season runs from December to February, in the southern sector from April to October.
How to get to Odzala Kokoua National Park
mainly via flight from Brazzaville airport to Odzala airstrip or by road to the southern park entrance in Mbomo settlement), getting to the Odzala Kokoua National park is mainly by air.)
Where to stay in Odzala Kokoua National Park
Usually to stay at one of the three Odzala Discovery Camps run by Congo Conservation Company, there are not many lodging options around Odzala National Park visitors arriving for Congo tours; all of which provide a unique, life-changing chance to visit the forests of the Congo Basin in safety and comfort.
Odzala Discovery Camps: Mboko Camp, Odzala-Kokoua National Park