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- Western lowland gorillas: The reason most people come. Odzala-Kokoua National Park holds one of the largest gorilla populations in Africa, and habituated groups are tracked on foot from the lodge areas. Treks run from under an hour to most of a morning through dense, humid forest, with the troop often feeding on herbaceous plants in the undergrowth. Permits are limited and expensive, so book ahead.
- The Mbomo gateway and Lekoli River area: Mbomo is the small settlement on the park edge where the forest road ends. The Lekoli River runs through the southern sector and is dark and tea-colored. Dugout canoe trips here pass monkeys, hornbills and the occasional African dwarf crocodile.
- Forest elephants at the bais: Odzala’s clearings (called bais) are mineral-rich, swampy openings where forest elephants
- Western lowland gorillas: The reason most people come. Odzala-Kokoua National Park holds one of the largest gorilla populations in Africa, and habituated groups are tracked on foot from the lodge areas. Treks run from under an hour to most of a morning through dense, humid forest, with the troop often feeding on herbaceous plants in the undergrowth. Permits are limited and expensive, so book ahead.
- The Mbomo gateway and Lekoli River area: Mbomo is the small settlement on the park edge where the forest road ends. The Lekoli River runs through the southern sector and is dark and tea-colored. Dugout canoe trips here pass monkeys, hornbills and the occasional African dwarf crocodile.
- Forest elephants at the bais: Odzala’s clearings (called bais) are mineral-rich, swampy openings where forest elephants gather, sometimes in groups of 20 or more. Observation platforms let you sit quietly and watch them dig and drink with the forest wall behind. Mbeli Bai-style counts of animals vary day to day, so patience matters.
- Mboko Camp savannah edges: The park’s northern and southern zones mix forest with patches of open savannah. Walking here gives you long sight lines, a rare thing in Congo Basin forest. Buffalo, bushbuck and the odd red river hog show up on the grass at dawn.
- Primate walks for monkeys and chimpanzees: The park holds seventeen primate species, including chimpanzees, mandrills and several guenons. Walks along old logging tracks and forest paths bring close encounters with troops crashing through the canopy overhead. Calls carry a long way, so you often hear them well before you see anything.
- Bird-watching in the forest and bais: More than 400 bird species are recorded, among them African grey parrots, which gather at the clearings in the early morning, and great blue turacos. Mornings along the rivers and bai edges are best, when the noise level is highest.
- Night drives and forest soundscape: After dark the forest changes. Frogs, tree hyraxes and insects fill the air with sound, and a spotlight can pick out genets, pottos and bushbabies in the branches. Go with a guide who knows the tracks.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.