Congo Gorilla Tours Diverted To Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the African countries that is endowed with the majestic Mountain gorillas. The mountain gorillas in Democratic Republic of Congoare sheltered in the Virunga national park, while Kahuzi-Biega national park inhabits the lowland gorillas.

The most famous national park that is well known for gorilla activities in Democratic Republic of Congo is Virunga national park. However, Kahuzi-Biega national park is also keeping up in the gorilla tours due to the closure of the Virunga national park till 2019.

All gorilla activities in Congo have diverted to Kahuzi-Biega national park. The Virunga national park was closed in may 2018 due to insecurity circumstances, which include killing several park rangers and kidnapping two tourists.

Since the closure of Virunga national park, most travelers searching for the endangered gorillas have been transferred to Kahuzi-Biega national park with the potential and the closest alternative to Virunga which shelters the majestic eastern lowland gorillas.

Kahuzi-Biega national park is not only a home for the eastern lowland gorillas but also other wildlife species such as 136 species of the mammals and abundant bird life. These endangered apes were constantly threatened by rebels and locals but the park authorities worked so hard to protect the gorillas and other animals by tightening security and other safety measures including sensitization of the local community about the dangers of poaching which was proving to be the most common threat facing lowland gorillas over the past years.

Kahuzi-Biega national park is located in the Bukavu area, south Kivu province and is the last refuge of the eastern lowland gorillas where travelers can encounter these majestic species from their natural environment, also encountering other primates like the eastern chimpanzees, colobine and owl-faced monkeys.

Some of the common wildlife mammals that are worth interacting with are; bush buffalo, hylochere, bongo, bush elephant and many others. Kahuzi-Biega national park is also endowed with the aquatic civet, eastern needle-clawed galago, maclaud’s horseshoe bat, Rwenzori least otter shrew and Alexander’s bush squirrel.

Travelers who are interested in exploring Kahuzi-Biega national park should not worry about the insecurity issues because the current security is calm and there is a conducive environment that can offer travelers the best of their gorilla safaris.

The park management is optimistic that gorilla tourism will continue in Kahuzi-Biega national park given the improvement of security measures, training and deploying more game rangers to tighten the security in the park.

Make sure that after finishing with the incredible lowland gorilla trekking there are some exciting activities that Democratic Republic of Congo presents to her travelers through Kahuzi-Biega national park including;

• Volcano Hiking

The park has two volcanoes which can be hiked within the park. These include; mount Kahuzi which is about 3308m and mount Biega which is about 2790m above sea level. These summits offer the perfect opportunity for park viewing with its local communities. Don’t wait to see the spectacular bamboo and sub alpine vegetation cover during this hike.

• Birding

This is a must site when it comes to bird watching. It is a real paradise with over 350 bird species and 42 are endemic to this area. Some of the common birds sighted include; African green broad bill, yellow crested helmet-shrike, the Congo peafowl, Rockefellers and many others.

• Nature walks

The park has many walking trails with in the park to different tourism sites, including, Tshibiti waterfall trails leading to the three waterfalls within the park, with a lot of adventures along the way like vegetation types and other wildlife species. The fresh air is always comforted with sounds of the birds making the trail remarkable.

These awesome characters of Kahuzi-Biega national park, ranging from the gorillas to the primates and the bird species makes it the best option after Virunga national park. There is no reason to forget gorilla safaris in Congo, because of the closure of Virunga national park.