The flooded forest
Dark channels.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters — Public domain · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Matt Muir — CC BY 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JosepMGracia — CC BY-SA 4.0
Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a park in the north of the Republic of the Congo, established in 1993 and home to forest elephants, great apes including western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees, and bongo antelope. Its forests hold some 300 bird species and a thousand plant and tree species, including endangered mahoganies. The idea for the park emerged in the 1980s to protect elephants roaming freely in the region from poaching and logging. Since 2013 it has been run under a partnership between the government and a wildlife conservation society, until 2038. It is part of the Sangha Trinational World Heritage Site. You see dark, calm channels between trees standing in water, thick leaves mirrored on the surface. In the clearing known as Mbeli Bai, elephants wade through grass and water. The broad Sangha River runs between two walls of forest, travelled by long canoes. It is about 126 km from Ouésso in a straight line. A visit needs advance arrangement with the park authority. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel within 50 km of the Central African Republic border in Likouala, so read the current advice.
Dark channels.
Elephants in water.
Between forest walls.
Northern Republic of the Congo
A wet forest clearing where elephants and gorillas gather.
Yes, the UK Foreign Office advises against travel within 50 km of the CAR border in Likouala.