DR Congo
Congo River Expedition

Arrive in Kinshasa, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and transfer to hotel accommodation. Overnight Hotel Sultani or similar.

After breakfast visit the wonderful Lola Ya Bonobo chimpanzee project, just beyond Kinshasa’s southern suburbs. Later, in Kinshasa we explore the districts, markets and buildings that characterise one of Africa’s most fascinating megacities. Formerly referred to as ‘Kin La Belle’ – meaning ‘Beautiful Kinshasa’, many years of turmoil have tarnished the city’s image. However, slowly Kinshasa is striving to regain its splendour. Overnight Hotel Sultani or similar. (B)

Today we fly to Mbandaka, capital of DRC’s Equateur Province and the starting point for our Congo river expedition. We camp overnight in the city, ready to embark in the early morning on our voyage to Lisala. Overnight tented camp. (BLD)

The first part of our voyage, upriver from Mbandaka to Lisala, is expected to take 10-nights. We travel through a vast area, without roads or airports. The river is a vital lifeline for the communities we visit en route. We will observe how they go about their everyday lives, buying and selling produce from small boats that criss-cross the Congo. The people we meet have little, if any, contact with the outside world, and certainly no concept of tourism. Genuinely spontaneous encounters make this pioneering journey a must for intrepid travellers. There are increasingly few places on the planet where this kind of experience is possible. (BLD)

Our vessel is a 34m wooden boat, equipped with two powerful outboard engines. Although traditional in design, it is of course equipped with full safety equipment, toilet facilities, a generator, lighting and freezers for food and drinks. A cook and an English-speaking guide accompany the voyage throughout.

Each night is spent ashore or close to a village where we buy fresh produce, prepare dinner and set-up our tented camp. Walk-in tents are large and comfortable, and equipped with a self-inflating mattress, cotton mattress covers and pillows. Travellers should bring their own sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, as well as towels and toiletries.

Today we expect to arrive in Lisala, the hometown of Mobuto Sese Seko, President of Zaire from 1965 to 1997. Much can be written about the cruelty and excess of Mobuto’s despotic rule. Lisala is also the halfway point between Mbandaka to Kisangani. Some passengers will be returning to Kinshasa, taking a plane back to the capital tomorrow. At the same time, others will be joining the boat, flying from Kinshasa to Lisala, in order to travel on to Kisangani. Overnight tented camp a few kilometres outside Lisala. (BLD)

The second part of our voyage takes us upriver from Lisala to our final destination, the city of Kisangani. The journey is expected to take 10-nights and, as with the voyage to Lisala, each night will be spent ashore at or close to a village where we can buy fresh produce, prepare dinner and set-up our tented camp. Highlights include Bumba, where the Congo is at its widest, some 20 kilometres across, and covered with water hyacinths. Closer to Kisangani we travel through Yangambi, an important Biosphere Reserve which hosts 32,000 tree species. Wildlife in the reserve includes elephants, river hogs and monkeys. (BLD)

Founded, as Stanleyville, by journalist and adventurer, Henry Morton Stanley in 1877, Kisangani is the farthest navigable point upstream on the Congo River – over 2,000km from its mouth on the Atlantic coast. Within the last fifty years the city has seen more than its fair share of troubles, being seized by Simba rebels during the Congo crisis in the 1960s and witnessing the war that gripped the DRC in the 1990s. Today Kisangani’s half a million inhabitants are edging their way towards recovery. A visit here is not only fascinating but integral to gaining a greater understanding of DRC. After exploring the town, we visit Tshopo River Falls, and the village of Wagenia, whose fishermen maintain a unique system of bamboo fish traps set among the Congo’s rapids. Overnight Hotel Triangle or similar (BLD)

Today, after almost a month, the end of the journey may be hard to reconcile. Transfer to Kisangani’s airport for a scheduled flight back to Kinshasa. Overnight Hotel Sultani or similar. (B)

After breakfast the tour ends with transfers to the airport for onward flights. (B)