Tourism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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A young mountain gorilla in Volcanoes National Park. DRC's wildlife is a tourist attraction Young mountain gorilla (8210091620).jpg
A young mountain gorilla in Volcanoes National Park. DRC's wildlife is a tourist attraction

Tourism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is uncommon. Tourists can see wildlife, indigenous cultures, [1] and geological phenomena not found easily or anywhere else in Africa.

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In the capital city, Kinshasa, limited tourism opportunities exist. In downtown Kinshasa an ivory market exists where other than the obvious, Congolese art, tribal masks, and other beautiful goods can be procured. Outside Kinshasa is a bonobo preserve called Lola Ya Bonobo. [2] In Kinshasa visits to the Congo River or the city golf course or downtown restaurants can be nice.

Tourists can trek to see the mountain and lowland gorillas in wild, [3] meet pygmies still practising their traditional way of life in the forests, spot bonobos [4] and okapi [5] —two rare species not found anywhere else on earth, and climb to the summits of active volcanoes and see a boiling lava lake in the crater of Mount Nyiragongo. The DRC has experienced frequent unrest in the eastern part of the country.

Private trips are cheaper in the DRC than in neighbouring Rwanda or Uganda.

Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park is the first national mark in Africa, established in 1925. The park is main driver for tourism in the DRC. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site located in the east of the DRC.[ citation needed ]

On May 11, 2018, two British tourists, a park ranger, and a Congolese driver were kidnapped in Virunga National Park. The ranger was killed but the other three were released. Virunga National Park closed temporarily to address safety concerns. The park reopened in February 2019. Tourists can visit Virunga to obtain a gorilla trekking [6] permit or to hike to the largest lava lake in the world, Mount Nyiragongo.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo</span> Country in Central Africa

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly known as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Kivu</span> Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Edward</span>

Lake Edward is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with its northern shore a few kilometres south of the equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Nyiragongo</span> Active volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mount Nyiragongo is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of 3,470 m (11,385 ft) in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and just west of the border with Rwanda. The main crater is about two kilometres (1 mi) wide and usually contains a lava lake. The crater presently has two distinct cooled lava benches within the crater walls – one at about 3,175 m (10,417 ft) and a lower one at about 2,975 m (9,760 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virunga Mountains</span> Chain of volcanoes in East Africa

The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, in the area where Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda meet. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border the western branch of the East African Rift. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means "volcanoes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Congo War</span> Major war in Africa (1998–2003)

The Second Congo War, also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year after the First Congo War, and involved some of the same issues. Eventually involving belligerents from across the African continent, the war officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2002, violence has continued in many regions of the country, especially in the east. Hostilities have continued since in the ongoing Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, and the Kivu and Ituri conflicts. Nine African countries and around twenty-five armed groups became involved in the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virunga National Park</span> National park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. It covers an area of 8,090 km2 (3,120 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goma</span> Provincial capital and city in North Kivu, DR Congo

Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift system. Goma lies only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. The recent history of Goma has been dominated by the volcano and the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which in turn fueled the First and Second Congo Wars. The aftermath of these events was still having effects on the city and its surroundings in 2010. The city was captured by rebels of the March 23 Movement during the M23 rebellion in late 2012, but it has since been retaken by government forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern lowland gorilla</span> Subspecies of ape

The eastern lowland gorilla or Grauer's gorilla is a Critically Endangered subspecies of eastern gorilla endemic to the mountainous forests of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Important populations of this gorilla live in the Kahuzi-Biega and Maiko National Parks and their adjacent forests, the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, the Usala forest and on the Itombwe Massif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mgahinga Gorilla National Park</span> National Park in Uganda

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a national park in southwestern Uganda. It was created in 1991 and covers an area of 33.9 km2 (13.1 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertine Rift montane forests</span> Ecoregion in east-central Africa

The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Democratic Republic of the Congo–related articles</span>

Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel de Merode</span>

Prince Emmanuel de Merode is a conservationist and anthropologist. He has been the director of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

The wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes its flora and fauna, comprising a large biodiversity in rainforests, seasonally flooded forests and grasslands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubavu District</span> District in Rwanda

Rubavu District is one of the seven districts (akarere) in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Gisenyi, a large beach resort and border city. It has a total surface area of 388.4 Km2. The Rubavu Urban area, which includes Gisenyi, Rugerero and other nearby localities, had a 2012 population of 149,209, the second most populous urban area in Rwanda.

iGorilla is a software application (app) that is designed for use with the internet and multimedia enabled smartphones iPhone or iPod Touch, which were created by Apple Inc. iGorilla is the first app to be dedicated to the protection of mountain gorillas and is evidence that organizations involved in wildlife conservation are using digital media technology to raise funds and awareness by communicating directly with people who are concerned about the planet’s biological heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Mikeno</span> Extinct volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Mount Mikeno is an extinct volcanic mountain located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo section of the Virunga Mountains along with Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Bisoke and Mount Sabyinyo. At 4,437 metres (14,557 ft) Mount Mikeno is the second highest peak in the Virunga Mountains after Karisimbi, and the 13th highest mountain of Africa. Mikeno means "poor" and is so named for its harsh slopes which preclude human habitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span> Policy on permits required to enter the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Visitors to the Democratic Republic of the Congo must obtain a visa from one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo diplomatic missions unless they come from a visa exempt country, a country whose nationals can obtain a visa on arrival or eligible to obtain an e-visa online https://evisa.gouv.cd or are arriving from a country with no embassy, in which case they can obtain a visa confirmation followed by a 7-day visa on arrival. In recent years, it is possible to arrange a tourist visa for visiting the Virunga National Park through the park itself.

<i>Virunga</i> (film) 2014 film

Virunga is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. It focuses on the conservation work of park rangers within the Congo's Virunga National Park during the rise of the violent M23 Rebellion in 2012 and investigates the activity of the British oil company Soco International within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Soco International ended up officially exploring oil opportunities in Virunga in April 2014. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 17 April 2014. After airing on Netflix, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Events in the year 2021 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

  1. ↑ Hudman, Lloyd E.; Richard H. Jackson (2003). Geography of travel & tourism. Cengage Learning. p.  392. ISBN   978-0-7668-3256-5.
  2. ↑ "Friends of Bonobos | We save bonobos and their Congo rainforest home". Bonobos.
  3. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Mary; Tom Parkinson; Nick Ray (2006). East Africa. Lonely Planet. p.  97. ISBN   978-1-74104-286-3.
  4. ↑ UNEP year book. United Nations Environment Programme. 2008. p. 11. ISBN   978-92-807-2877-4.
  5. ↑ Hughes, Holly; Larry West (2008). Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear. Frommer's. p.  180. ISBN   978-0-470-18986-3.
  6. ↑ "Congo Gorilla Trekking". Kesi To and Fro. 6 November 2018.
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