DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO   >   AFRICA 


Holiday in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regions in Congo : Bandundu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur, Upper-Zaire, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Maniema, North-Kivu, Shaba, South-Kivu

Capital City of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa.


hotels, tour operators, travel guides, travel to the democratic republic of the congo

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Hotels Republic of Congo

 
Centrally located hotels ranging from small family run budget accommodation to world-class five star hotels.

 

National Parks / Nature Reserve

Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

  Bombo-Lumene Game Reserve
Located 130 kilometers from Kinshasa on the road to Kikwit in the Bandundu Province.
  Nature Reserve Lomako-Yokokala
200 km northeast of Mbandaka. Mainly to protect the Bonobo apes, but also other endangered species like the Giant Pangolin, le chat d'or and the Congo Peafowl.
  Virunga National Park  -  with the Nyiragongo volcano
A World Heritage Site containing the endangered Mountain Gorillas not far away from the border with Rwanda. See UNESCO.

  WCS Congo
Since 1895, WCS has worked from our Bronx Zoo headquarters to save wildlife and wild lands throughout the world. We uniquely combine the resources of wildlife parks in New York with field projects around the globe to inspire care for nature, provide leadership in environmental education, and help sustain our planet's biological diversity.

Travel Agents / Tour Operators

  
Holidays from dozens of leading specialist tour companies and accommodations who are passionate about conserving Africa's wildlife and benefiting its people.

 
Create your perfect trip to Congo   -   Flight, Hotel and Car



Travel Guides Congo / Related Books

  Congo: Democratic Republic· Republic (Bradt Travel Guide) - 1841622338
Sean Rorison (Author)
The first full guidebook on both Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the People's Republic of Congo (PRC) in well over a decade, the Bradt guide provides full coverage of the major cities and national parks of the two countries. The Congos encompass Africa's largest area of intact rainforest. Two eastern national parks, both World Heritage Sites, protect not only the mountain gorilla but the critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla as well. One of the last bastions in Africa for the seriously adventurous traveller, the Congos are open to serious travellers. The Bradt guide tells you how to travel both adventurously and safely.
Paperback: 352 pages; Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1 edition (15 Mar 2008); ISBN-10: 1841622338; ISBN-13: 978-1841622330.

The Okapi: Mysterious Animal of Congo-Zaire  -   Susan Lyndaker Lindsey
A complete natural history of the okapi, a relation of the giraffe, which lives in the Cong-Zaire rainforests.
Paperback 131 pages (July 1999);  Publisher: University of Texas Press;  Language: English;  ISBN: 0292747071
East Along the Equator: A Journey Up the Congo and into Zaire 
Helen Winternitz
Paperback 274 pages (August 25, 2000);  Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing,US;  Language: English;  ISBN: 0871131625
One Hundred Years of Darkness: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of Congo 
Jon Swain (Foreword), Marcus Bleasdale (Photographer)
Published to mark the centenary of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" this large format book of black and white photographs of contemporary Congo combines haunting images by Marcus Bleasdale with an essay by Jon Swain of London's Sunday Times. Each photograph is accompanied by a quote from the classic novel and extended captions detail life in the former Belgian colony...
... Jailed four times in the two years he spent taking these photographs, Marcus Bleasdale faced daily threats and intimidation in order to capture life under Kabila s brutal regime. He is one of the few photographers to penetrate contemporary Congo's interior. Bleasdale s photographs peel away the strata of mud, water and time that overlay a century of life on the Congo River, to reveal that not very much has changed. ..
Hardcover 144 pages (July 24, 2002);  Publisher: Pirogue Press;  Language: English;  ISBN: 0954301501
Heart of Darkness - Penguin Popular Classic  -   Joseph Conrad
In this tale of colonial exploitation, the narrator, Marlowe, journeys deep into the heart of Africa. But there he encounters Kurtz, an idealist apparently crazed and depraved by his power over the natives, and the meeting prompts Marlowe to reflect on the darkness at the heart of all men.
Paperback 112 pages (April 28, 1994);  Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.;  Language: English;  ISBN: 0140620486.
  Blood River  -  A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart   -   Tim Butcher
2007. ISBN 0701179813.

Transport / How do I travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo and one of the largest countries on the African continent, is located in South Central Africa with a narrow strip of land on the northern bank of the Zaire River. It is bound by the Republic of Congo and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola to the southwest, Zambia to the southeast, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda to the east, Sudan to the northeast and the Central African Republic to the north and northwest

Years of civil war and corruption have badly damaged the country's infrastructure

Maybe the best way is to fly to Brazzaville and use this as a home base for your visit.

  Kananga Airport
  Kindu Airport
  Kisangani Airport   -   Bangoka International Airport.
  Kinshasa Airport   -   N'Dolo Airport
  Lubumbashi Airport   -   Luano Airport, located northeast of Lubumbashi

  Brazzaville Airport  [ Republic of the Congo ]

 
Book cheap flights to Congo at ebookers and benefit from discounted airfares. View their latest offers and book your flights, accommodation, car hire and insurance online

  Airline Tickets /  Bargain Flights

  SNCC   -   Congolese National Railways
Freight and passenger service in the Democratic Republic of Congo

  Rebuilding Congo's Railroad  -  Fighting Delays Efforts to Restore Vital Economic Link
by Jason Beaubien

There are ferries crossing the de Congo River between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

  Maps International   -    
Mapsinternational.co.uk is one of the largest map shops online.
  Map Democratic Rep. of Congo [ Uni Texas  -  Perry-Castañeda Library  -  Map Collection ]


Links 

  Travel Insurance

  Government   -   Republique Democratique du Congo

  Kinshasa   -   Capital City of DROC
The capital, Kinshasa, is located in the country's western salient, immediately across the Congo River from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo

IAs proposed in 2005 from 2009 the country will probably be divided in the next provinces : Bas-Uele, Équateur, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Uele, Ituri, Kasaï, Kasaï oriental, Kongo central, Kwango, Kwilu, Lomami, Lualaba, Lulua, Mai-Ndombe, Maniema, Mongala , Nord-Kivu, Nord-Ubangi, Sankuru, Sud-Kivu, Sud-Ubangi, Tanganyika, Tshopo, Tshuapa, and Kinshasa.

  Bandundu
The Bandundu province is characterized by savannah covered plateaus which are cut by streams and rivers.  All along the waterways one finds pockets of thick forest.
Most villages are located on the plateaus and villagers travel daily, down into the valleys to farm the rich soils in the forest.   Slash and burn agriculture is practiced, where the forest is cleared and burned in order to plant fields.  Main crops include manioc (cassava), maize, squash, and beans.
  Congo Orientale [ former Upper Congo / Haut-Zaire ]   -   in the northeast of Congo
Its provincial capital is Kisangani. Congo Orientale borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north, and Uganda to the east.
In future Congo Orientale it will be divided in Ituri Province, Haut-Uele Province, Tshopo Province and Bas-Uele Province.
  Equateur   -   with provincial capital Mbandaka, a city on the Congo River
Destinations : Banganbola, Basankusu, Bikoro, Boende, Bokonzi, Bokungu, Bomongo, Bolomba, Bosobolo, Budjala, Bumba, Businga, Bwamanda, Djolu, Gbadolite, Gemena, Ikela, Ingende, Karawa, Libenge, Lisala, Loko, Lukolela, Makanza, Mbaya, Monkoto, Pimu, Tandala, Wapinda, and Zongo.
In 2009 it will be divided in Nord-Ubangi, Mongala, Sud-Ubangi, Tshuapa, and Equateur.
  Kasai-Oriental   -  Its capital is Mbuji-Mayi
Kasai Oriental is inhabited by members of the Luba tribe. The region surrounding Mbuji-Mayi annually produces one-tenth in weight of the world's industrial diamonds.
  Katanga   -   with regional capital Lubumbashi, second largest city in the Congo
The eastern part of the province is a rich mining region, which supplies cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, and diamonds. The province forms the Congolese border with Angola and Zambia. The province also borders Tanzania, although Katanga province and Tanzania do not share a land border but the border is within Lake Tanganyika.
Beginning in the seventeenth century, the province was controlled by the Luba Empire and Lunda Kingdom.
  Lower Congo [ Bas-Congo ]   -   with provincial capital is Matadi
Bas-Congo is the only province with a coastline (Atlantic Ocean) and borders the Republic of Angola to the south.
  Maniema   -   Its provincial capital is Kindu
The provincial capital was an important centre for the ivory, gold and slave trades [ Arab-Swahili slave traders ] during the nineteenth century.
  North Kivu [ Nord-Kivu ]   -   with provincial capital Goma
Cities : Goma, Butembo and Beni. Territories : Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Walikali. North Kivu is home to the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site containing the endangered Mountain Gorillas. To the east it borders Uganda and Rwanda.
  South Kivu   -   Sud-Kivu  -   with provincial capital is Bukavu
To the east it borders the countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania.
  West Kasai [ Kasai-Occidental ]   -   with provincial capital Kananga
West Kasai borders the country of Angola to the south.

  Bukavu   -   provincial capital South Kivu
  Goma   -   North Kivu, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi
The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley. Goma is ca 18 km due south of the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano.
  Kananga   -   Capital City West Kasai near the Lulua River, a tributary of the Kasai River
Former Luluabourg is nowadays an important commercial and administrative centre.
  Kasenga   -   at the Luapula River
  Kashobwe   -   at the Luapula River
  Kilwa   -   situated on the south-west shore of Lake Mweru
  Kindu   -   provincial capital Maniema and located on the Congo River
Kindu was an important centre for the ivory, gold and slave trades during the nineteenth century. Arab -Swahili slave traders were based here from about 1860 and sent caravans overland to Zanzibar. About 400 km west of Bukavu. Kindu is linked by rail to Kalemie, Kamina and Kananga.
  Kisangani   -   provincial capital of Tshopo Province   -   former Stanleyville / Stanleystad
The city is located where the Lualaba River becomes the Congo River north of the Boyoma Falls. Kisangani is the farthest navigable point upstream from the capital city Kinshasa. Diamonds and gold are found in the surroundings.
  Kolwezi   -   City in the south, west of Likasi in the province of Katanga
Home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Kolwezi is an important mining centre for copper and cobalt. There are also uranium, radium, oxide ores, and lime deposits.
  Likasi   -   a town in Katanga Province, in the south-east region
Likasi is a centre for industry, especially mining, and is a transport hub for the surrounding region. There are mines and refineries supplied by nearby deposits of copper and cobalt. Formerly known as Jadotville or Jadotstad.
  Lubumbashi   -   Capital City Katanga and important market town
  Matadi   -   Capital City Lower Congo [ Matadi = stone in the Kikongo language ]
  Mbuji-Mayi   -   Capital City Kasai-Oriental on the Sankuru River
Mbuji-Mayi is a commercial center in Luba country and handles most of the industrial diamonds produced in the Congo. The region surrounding Mbuji-Mayi annually produces one-tenth in weight of the world's industrial diamonds.
  Pweto at the Moero Lake

Cities: Bandundu (Banningville), Bukavu (Constermansville), Djokupunda (Charlesville), Ilebo (Port-Francqui), Isiro (Paulis), Kalemie (Albertville), Kananga (Luluabourg), Kinshasa (Léopoldville), Kisangani (Stanleyville), Likasi (Jadotville), Lubumbashi (Élisabethville), Lukutu (Élisabetha), Lusanga (Leverville), Mbandaka (Coquilhatville), Mbanza-Ngungu (Thysville), Moba (Baudoinville), Mobaye-Mbongo (Banzyville), Mbuji-Mayi (Bakwanga), Ubundu (Ponthierville)

  Bonobo   -   see Wikipedia 
Usually called the Pygmy Chimpanzee is one of the two species making up the chimpanzee genus, Pan.
  Congopost.com   -   Kinshasa Daily
  Congopresse.com   - ???
  Congotrek   -   a trip through the 'Heart of Africa'
For 15 months Wildlife Conservation Society biologist J. Michael Fay hiked across central Africa  [ 3,200 kilometers ] through dense forests and remote villages to Africa's Atlantic coast.
  Jef Geeraerts   -   Belgian writer  -  has lived in Belgian Congo for a long time
Kilwa Island, Lake Mweru   -   6 km from Kilwa, Katanga, but in Zambian territory
  Lake Moero in Katanga
  Luapala River   -   border river Zambia
  Mountain Gorillas   -   one of two subspecies of Eastern Gorillas
See also Wildlife Direct [ From Virunga National Park, ICCN Rangers report on their daily fight to protect the Mountain Gorillas of DR Congo ] or Arkive  -  Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei). 
  Nyiragongo volcano   -   active volcano near Goma
Nyiragongo is associated with the East African Rift and is part of the Virunga Volcanic Chain. It is in the Congo, not far from the border with Rwanda. Nyiragongo is in Virunga National Park and is of Africa's most active volcanoes.
  Okapi
Ils sont quelques milliers à vivre là, dans l'atmosphère humide et touffue de la forêt d'Ituri, dans le nord-est de la République démocratique du Congo.

  Radio-Television Nationale Congolaise (RTNC)   -   state-controlled terrestrial and satellite TV
  Radio Okapi   -   UN-backed politically-independent network, on FM and shortwave
  University of Lubumbashi   -   largest university in the province and one of the largest in the country
The university is located in the northern part of Lubumbashi city.

Cuisine   -   Dem. Rep. Congo Cooking Recipes

  Cassava bread
Known as "luku" in Bandundu, is eaten with side dishes of meat and vegetables.
  Chikwanga   -   cassave root
Western part of Bas-Congo is also known for its "chikwanga" which is cassava root pounded into a paste, wrapped in forest leaves, and boiled.   It is sold in the same leaves and is known to make a good travel food, as the leaf wrapping keeps the chikwanga fresh
  Lunguila wine / sugar cane wine
A favorite local drink made in western Bas-Congo is "lunguila" or sugar cane wine.  Sugar cane is peeled and the central portion of the cane stalk which contains the juice is cut and placed in a press. The resulting juice is then set aside to ferment.  The wine is then enjoyed, after a few days of fermentation
  Saka-madesu
The northern Bas-Congo area of Mayombe is known for a dish called "saka-madesu".  This delicious dish is a combination of stewed manioc leaves and beans.  The sauce is made by cooking manioc leaves together with the beans in a palm oil sauce.

History of DR Congo

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago, and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries by Bantus from present-day Nigeria.
European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. The area was first mapped by the British explorer Stanley. He prepared the region for European colonization. Congo was given to King Leopold II of Belgium in the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private property and named it 'Congo Free State'. In this Free State, the local population was brutalized in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the developement of rubber tires. See for more Wikipedia - Democratic Republic of the Congo

  Tippu Tip   -   one of the greatest Zanzibari slavers
1888 governor of Stanley Falls district.  He met and helped several famous western explorers of the African continent, including Henry Morton Stanley. See Wikipedia.

The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo  -   Robert B. Edgerton
Hardcover 320 pages (December 2002);  Publisher: St. Martin's Press;  Language: English;  ISBN: 0312304862
The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History  -   Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja  
The people of the Congo have suffered a particularly brutal experience of colonial rule; and, following independence in 1960, external interference by the United States, the rapaclous and dictatorial regime of Mobutu, and periodic warfare which even now continues fitfully in the East of the country. But the Congolese people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down. They have struggled to improve their living conditions by trying both to establish democratic institutions at home and to free themselves from exploitation from abroad. Professor Nzongola-Ntalaja's deep knowledge of personalities and events, and his understanding of the underlying class, ethnic and other factors at work, make this a compelling, lucid, radical and utterly unromanticized account. Paperback 320 pages (February 2002);  Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.;  Language: English;  ISBN: 1842770535
The Assassination of Lumumba  -   Ludo de Witte
Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Republic of the Congo and a pioneer of African unity, was at the centre of the country's popular defiance towards the relentless exploitation of its Belgian coloniser. Within months of independence being won he Patrice Lumumba was arrested, tortured and executed. "The Murder of Lumumba" reveals the appalling mass of lies that have surrounded the murder. Uncovering official sources and personal testimony, it reveals a network of complicity ranging from the Belgian government to the United Nations and the CIA.
Paperback 248 pages (September 30, 2002);  Publisher: Verso Books;  Language: English;  ISBN: 1859844103.

Music, Arts & Culture, Events

The Swahili (The Peoples of Africa)  -   Mark Horton, John Middleton
The Swahili are one of the best known of the peoples of Africa. Living along the East African coast, they acted as commercial middlemen, exchanging the commodities of continental Africa, such as gold, copper, slaves, ivory, skins and timber with the luxury items of the classical, oriental and Islamic worlds. They were central participants in a global economy, long before the era of European expansion. This book is one of the first to draw on recent archaeological findings and a re-assessment of the historical and anthropological evidence to provide an account of this remarkable African civilization covering some two thousand years. This book is essential reading not only for Africanists, but also for those dealing with the history of Islam, Mediterranean history, and Indian Ocean studies, and for those who wish to understand how trading societies organize their landscape, society, governance and belief systems.
Hardcover 288 pages (January 6, 2001);  Publisher: Blackwell Publishers;  Language: English;  ISBN: 063118919X
  See Wikipedia
Since the colonial era, Kinshasa, Congo's capital, has been one of the great centers of musical innovation, ranking alongside Nairobi, Johannesburg and Abidjan in influence. The country, however, was carved out territories controlled by many different ethnic groups, many of which had little in common with each other. Each maintained (and continue to do so) their own folk music traditions, and there was little in the way of a pan-Congolese musical identity until the 1940s...
Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos 
Gary Stewart
This work portrays an era when the currents of tradition and modernization collided along the banks of the Congo Rivers. It is the story of twin capitals engulfed in political struggle and the vibrant music that flowered amidst the ferment.
Hardcover 400 pages (February 8, 2000);  Publisher: Verso Books;  Language: English;  ISBN: 1859847447.
  Yaka Sculpture   -   slit drums, masks, stools
'The most important event in the Yaka ceremonial cycle is the initiation of young boys into adulthood. To mark the end of the educational period, festivities are held in which the initiates perform with newly carved masks. Additionally, it showcases the most startling masks and the most spectacular dances'.


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