Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park DR Congo

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park located in the northern part of the Republic of the Congo which was established in 1993 under the president’s decree order. Nouabale-Ndoki is the home for the western lowland gorillas after the Odzala Kokoua national park located in the same region, apart from the western lowland gorillas; the park also harbors elephants, apes, and the chimpanzees, Bongo.The forest of Nouabale-Ndoki national park has a rich biodiversity of 300 bird species, plus 1,000 plant and tree species which include endangered mahogany which is a critically endangered African tree species.

The Creation of the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in Congo was as a result of the free movement of the elephants that used to cross from Congo to Cameroon, this also leads Cameron to make a game reserve of Dzanga- Sangha Special Reserve and the Dzanga-Ndoki National park for the protection of the Wildlife in the Congo. The Western Lowland gorillas in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park are found in the part of the park called Mbeli Bai, it’s the most recommended destination to be visited by Western lowland gorilla lovers to enjoy.

The number of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park staff has been increased, and infrastructure is being developed to ensure effective management that benefits both wildlife and local people. Park headquarters at Bomassa and Makao has been refurbished, with the expansion of a fully functioning garage at Bomassa to maintain the park’s fleet of vehicles and boats. An office has been established in the nearest large town, Ouesso, to facilitate logistics and the follow up of wildlife crime cases in the local court. Airstrips at Makao-Linganga and Kabo have been refurbished, allowing easy access to the entire park for surveillance flights. Best practice administrative and logistics systems are being implemented to ensure that park operations run seamlessly, and teams in the field are equipped with appropriate equipment. The size of the Ndoki anti-poaching force has been increased and has been trained by world-class specialists, together with the Congolese Government, in a diverse range of tactics to help them to save Congo’s wildlife without risking their safety, and at the same time protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

Size of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

The Nouabale-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) covers more than 4,000 square kilometers of contiguous lowland rain forest in the northern Republic of Congo. It is arguably the best example of an intact forest ecosystem remaining in the Congo Basin. The park has never been logged, contains no roads within its borders, and still protects wildlife populations deep within its interior that have had little or no contact with people. The forest is part of the larger Sangha Tri-National Forest Landscape that in July 2012 was nominated as a World Heritage Site. The region is a stronghold for important populations of large mammals, including forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees. The park also contains forest clearings that offer a window into the lives of shy forest wildlife, creating fantastic opportunities for tourism development and conservation science.

Location of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park located in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo Republic which was established in 1993 under the president’s decree order which is home to the elusive forest elephants and the western lowland gorillas which may be threatened by the permits given out to oil exploration companies.

How to get to Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Only accessible with a sturdy 4WD, patience, and a sense of humor, a night in the forest towns and remote outpost’s en-route adds spice to the trip and strengthens resolve.

Remoteness has long provided a moat of protection for the park. Road building within nearby logging concessions and upgrading of national highways from dirt to tarmac has made the area much more accessible to poachers. As great apes come into closer, more frequent, contact with humans, there is more opportunity for the transfer of diseases between species, placing both people and our closest animal relatives at risk.

Things to do in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

The national park is under the research and monitoring of WCS as they are carrying out research on the critically endangered wildlife species in the interact rain forest the activities in the national park can be done alongside the staff of the Wildlife conservation society.

Wildlife Encounters

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park has a variety of tree species and plants to be viewed alongside the Wildlife & primates like the Western Lowland gorillas, Chimpanzee, Monkeys during the Congo Safari holiday.

The monkey species found here are the black-and-white and red colobus, moustached and crowned guenon, grey-cheeked mangabey, and many others.

Community visits

Visit isolated riverside outposts and traditional B’Aka forest villages and get to interrupt with the local people as they coup up with the importance of conservation of the wildlife resource.

Forest experience

The national park has two camps in the rain forest and these can give you an absolute serene in the forest as you go extremely wild in terms of noise.

Paddling or walks

Paddle (or walk) through flooded swamps in wooden pirogues as you keep an eye on the rich birdlife in the national park as you drift quietly through the swamp marsh.

When to visit Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

As it’s well known that Nouabale-Ndoki National Park is found within the tropical forests of Africa, it has tropical climatic conditions which means that it received rainfall throughout the year as of two seasons. Based on the fact that Nouabale-Ndoki National Park has a humid climate, it receives approximately 1 1,250 mm (49 in) of rain a year. The main rainy season is August to November and the dry season is December to February.

When planning a gorilla trekking safari to Nouabale-Ndoki national park, it’s recommended that you travel during the dry season as the route are more easily passable compared to the rainy season even though Gorilla trekking is done throughout the year

Where to Stay in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Unlike the other remote national parks in the democratic republic of Congo Nouabale-Ndoki national park has some basic but very authentic places to stay while contacting safaris in the national park.

Mbeli Camp in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Mbeli Camp is located on the Mbeli Bai, a small clearing in the rainforests of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. Built upon stilts, the simple but comfortable wooden huts provide all the necessities for a jungle adventure Leaving plenty of time to explore the jaw-dropping scenery, home to a large population of Lowland gorillas, forest elephants, buffalo, hogs, and antelope.

Mondika Camp Nouabale-Ndoki National Park

Mondika Camp is a very basic tented accommodation, with normal dome tents pitched on the ground. Primarily a research base, this is the only accommodation from which you can reach the tricky Mondika group of Western Lowland gorillas.

Established in 1995 by Professor Diane Doran for the study of gorilla behavior, it opened to tourism in 2005 in collaboration with WCS.