Best time to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo : The Democratic Republic of Congo, also commonly known as Congo whose capital is called Kinshasa – one of the biggest countries in Africa. Formerly known as Zaire and later changed to Democratic Republic of Congo, it is now changing its history into a more peaceful country and ready to welcome and host visitors from around the world.
Democratic Republic of Congo has a lot to offer in terms of tourism, because of its natural and man-made endowments, ranging from impressive Congolese architecture, culture, wildlife and landscape that is covered by water bodies, valleys and mountains/hills. This has boosted the tourism industry as both domestic and international tourists flock to enjoy these attractions. There is a lot to enjoy while on a Congo Safari and these are mainly protected areas such as a national park including heritage sites good for gorilla trekking, hiking, chimpanzee trekking, game drives, and boat cruise among others and these include;
Virunga national park.
This national park gets its name from the Virunga Mountains and is well known for its impressive population of rare mountain gorillas. This park covers total area of 7,769 square kilometers and the nearest town is Goma. It’s rich in biodiversity with over 200 mammal species including hippos, bush elephants, okapis, lions, chimpanzees among others. Over 700 bird species such as narrow tailed starling, Rwenzori batis, olive sunbird, yellow-billed barbet, double toothed barbet among others. This park also has 2 active volcanic mountains and these are Mt. Nyiragongo and Mt. Nyamuragira.
Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Kahuzi-Biega national park is located in the Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo near Bukavu town on extreme southern banks of Lake Kivu. It was established in 1970 and named after two dormant volcanoes – Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega. This is also one of the biggest national parks in Africa and known to inhabit the rare Eastern low land gorillas.
The park also boasts numerous mammal species including leopards, buffaloes, and chimpanzees, giant forest Hogs and over 350 bird species such as red-eyed dove, black-billed Turacos, black cuckoo, white-headed wood hoopoe among others, Best time to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo
Garamba National Park.
This is a UNESCO world heritage site, less-visited but one of the great national parks in Africa. While on the safari to this park, expect to view the stunning scenery of endless savannah plains covered by giraffes, elephants, hippos, rhinos, antelopes and different bird species of over 500 and these are squacco heron, fishing eagle, water thick-knee, pied kingfisher, wattled plovers, black crake, and knob billed ducks among others.
Democratic Republic of Congo is more than just national parks and travelers can explore places like the Kinshasa city tour where you can be able to view the old architectural building, diverse culture of the Congolese with their energetic Lingala dance, traditional meals – Fufu and Poulet à la Moambé which is a national food in Congo.
Therefore, a traveler can enjoy all those during a Congo Safari depending on their travel days and budget. There is typically no specific time to take a visit to DR. Congo and all you require is trekking permits and a visa to be ready to enjoy your Congo Safari.
As an expert team in organizing African safaris, we recommend taking a Congo safari in the dry season which covers the months of January to February (short dry season) and June to September (long dry season). In this season, the national parks are easy to access and even activities like gorilla trekking and hiking Mount. Nyiragongo possible. Although in the case of gorilla trekking, the gorilla families may seem to be a bit far as they move to search for food that is less abundant in the dry season.
