Famous as the origin of the popular good old Central African genre of Rumba Lingala music and dance, D.R. Congo has much more glorious beauty to offer to the world. Formally known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly Zaire, this central African country is the second largest country in Africa and the 11th largest in the whole world. Congo’s tourism is centered on natural diversity, owing to its unique natural features and wildlife species. Congo’s tourism mainly entails unique wildlife species, cultures and picturesque features not commonly sighted in other parts of the world.
D.R. Congo is largely covered by the world’s second-largest rainforest and Congo River basin. It is a perfect destination for an African nature holiday. It has various swamps, savannas, flood forests and African great lakes. It has the biggest volume of Africa’s tropical rainforests and thus is essential for maintaining climatic cycles. It harbors over 50,000 plant and animal species including endemic species like the okapi, bonobos and Congolese peacock.
These forests provide opportunities for tourist activities like gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking in National parks like Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega NP. Mountain climbing on the mountains in different areas is another popular activity. Game viewing and birding are also famous in DRC.
Owing to its size and biodiversity, D.R. Congo has varied climatic patterns and thus when to visit Congo depends on the location you are visiting. The southern part of the country has a long dry season from May to September with July as the driest month, whereas the north has a short dry season between January and February.
The best time to visit Nyiragongo is June to September when temperatures are slightly cooler. Proper hiking gear is however required since temperatures drop so low throughout the year. Virunga can be visited in December, January and February when there are slight breaks in the rains. These have few rainy days and low humidity.
