3 Amazing Wonders of Congo

3 Amazing Wonders of Congo: Car Rental Congo.

As the team of experts at Car Rental Congo having explored the magic DR congo in deep on various adventures, there are things that are recommended to all travelers visiting Eastern congo not to miss as they can not be found anywhere else in the world.

We have Ranked Eastern Kivu as the most visited destination in the entire country of the democratic republic of congo at low prices compared to the Kinshasa side.

GORILLA TREKKING

When it comes to gorillas, DR Congo is the home to both the mountain gorillas & Eastern Lowland Gorillas. Look no further than selecting Congo for a gorilla safari.

In order to track the mountain gorillas in the Virunga National park, one has to obtain a gorilla tracking permit prior to travel and car Rental Congo Sarl does offer such services to travelers that have selected to book Transport and accommodation with Us.

The Gorilla trekking permit costs $400 for the mountain gorillas in Virunga or Eastern Lowland gorillas in Kahuzi biega.

Start Points for Gorilla Treks in Congo

1. Virunga National park it begins from Jombe, Kibumba, and Bukima patrol posts
2. Kahuzi Biega National park begins the Tshivanga visitor center which is the park headquarter.

Trekkers are led by the park ranger who is usually armed for security purposes. The hiking may take several hours depending on where the gorillas spent their previous night. When they wake up in the morning, they begin moving starting from their nest to search for fruits, roots and leaves according to season. Trekkers follow these trails until they get to where they are. It’s not easy to know in advance how long you will walk to find these great apes.

Facts About Gorillas in Virunga National Park

The mountain gorillas are found in Virunga national park. This park has 3 sectors and these are The Northern sector. This is bordered by Uganda and the defining feature here is the Rwenzori Mountain which is found over 5000 meters. The peaks of this mountain are snowcapped (this is one reason why it is also called the snowcapped mountain ranges of the Rwenzori). In the central section is also the Lake Edward, the Ishasha River valley and the plains of Bwindi. This section has a number of wildlife which includes buffalos, elephants, topi’s among others. The Southern sector is best known for the Mountain gorillas. They are mainly found at the base of the Mikeno Volcano which is also a dormant Volcano found at 4380 meters.

This park is surrounded by dense forests which also make it ideal for numerous species of monkeys and chimpanzees to survive. The measures include comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, community education, and the dedicated services of the wildlife rangers.  About 10 gorillas were lost in the Virunga national park due to the chaos, murders, and civil wars that took place but the government and they are doing their best to offer the best security to both the local community and the tourists. This has reduced most risks and thus increase the number of visitors.

The Mikeno Sector of the park has several groups and these include Jomba, Bikenge, Bukima, Gatovu, Kibumba, and Rumangabo groups. Bukima group has 9 different families of gorillas that have been habituated and these include Bageni, Mapuwa, Kabirizi, Nyakamwe, Rugendo, Humba, Lulengo, Munyaga, and solitaires.

Below is the description for each group.

FAMILY	S.B	B.B	AD. F	SUB	JUV	BABIES	TOTAL
Bageni	3	0	10	2	7	9	31
Mapuwa	3	1	6	3	6	4	22
Kabirizi	3	0	5	6	1	4	19
Nyakamwe	2	1	4	2	1	2	12
Humba	2	0	3	1	2	3	11
Rugendo	3	0	2	1	2	2	10
Lulengo	1	0	3	1	4	1	10
Munyaga	3	0	2	0	2	2	09
Solitaires	5	1	0	0	0	0	06
Total	25	03	35	16	22	29	130

 

SB: Silverback            BB: Blackback            AD.F: Adult Female              JUV: Juvenile

 

During the sunny season, the gorillas tend to move further into the forests in search of food. This makes it a long journey for the tourists who are doing the gorilla trekking to finally find the gorillas. The park, in conjunction with the government and ICCN, has resolved to buy more of the surrounding land from the local people who own land near the park, to plant more bamboo shoots and trees so that even when the sunny season is on, the gorillas wouldn’t go so far into the forest looking for the bamboo and other food. read more

Facts About  Eastern Lowland Gorillas of Kahuzi Biega National Park.

They are found in Kahuzi Biega National park. This Park lies at the Albertine Rift Valley and the Congo Basin, Kahuzi-Biega National Park is an exceptional habitat for the Eastern lowland Gorillas and protection of the rainforest. In this park, there are 9 groups of gorilla families all together and out of these, 2 families are available for trekking. Briefing before the tracking takes place at the Tshivanga visitor center. Once you get to the gorillas, you are allowed one hour with them to take photos and videos while the moment lasts. There are 2 habituated groups of gorillas in this park and these are Bonanne and Chimanuka groups. Bonanne group has 9 members and Chimanuka group has 24 members.

The park seats on over 600,000 hectares of land with dense lowland rainforests and Afro-montane forests and bamboo forests with some small areas of sub-alpine prairies and heather on Mounts Kahuzi (3,308 m) and Biega (2,790 m). The Park also contains plant formations, rare worldwide, such as the swamp and bog altitudes and the marshland and riparian forests on hydromorphic ground at all altitudes. The flora and fauna in this exceptional diversity makes it one of the most important sites in the Albertine rift valley. It’s one of the richest regions (ecologically) in Africa and worldwide. This park has a diversity of mammals than any other place in the Rift valley region. It’s habitat for 136 species of mammals which includes the low land gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, and other extremely rare species of the eastern forests of the Congo. In 2003, the wildlife Conservation society established a bird list with 349 species of which 42 are endemic. read more

 NYIRAGONGO VOLCANO

Located in the far west of the Virunga National park, it stands at 3470 meters/ 11,382 feet above Sea level.

The whole journey takes 5-6 hours to climb to the top of this mountain. The day begins with a briefing at the base of the mountain by the park officials and the hike begins at 2000ft. This is the easiest part of the hike that takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to the first stop. The whole journey has 4 resting points to get to the summit which 3470 meters. While at the top, one can view Nyamulagira Volcano.

The hike begins at 2000mtrs with the first segment being the easiest and the fifth segment being the hardest. It is steep and stretching all the way to the top of the volcano.

For anyone preparing to hike, please consider having some extras such as the following:

1. Extra pairs of gloves. These will help you warm your hands as it is -0 degrees up at the summit.
2. Extra pair of stockings. These can be for changing in case it rains while climbing.
3. Extra pair of clothes. Preferably waterproof for example the fleece, rain jacket scarf
4. A headlamp. This helps you especially at night in case you need to go out for easing yourself.
5. Extra pair of hiking boots. These also are important in case it rains on your war up, you have something to change to.
6. Some snacks e.g peanuts, cashew nuts, biscuits, etc would be useful at a certain point on the journey.
7. Please consider having a porter to help you with carrying your backpack. The extra cost for this $24