Tours of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Congo: In The Footsteps of Stanley

Tour Map of Congo: In The Footsteps of Stanley

“...the tranquil waterway leading into the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky - seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” And so ends Joseph Conrad’s classic story of Marlow’s journey into the heart of the Belgian Congo, a land of matchless beauty, whose recent history is a tale of colonial brutality and wasted promise. Retracing some of the remarkable journey undertaken by Henry Morton Stanley in 1874, we follow that same river into Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, undertaking an adventure that will take us along some 1,000 kilometres of one of the greatest rivers on the African continent. During our days here we will explore something of the chaotic vibrancy of Kisangani and Kinshasa and travel into the forests of the Congo to visit the Bonobo Ape Project at Bolobo. We will also journey by boat down the great river itself, an odyssey of some 2-3 weeks that will see us following Stanley’s epic adventures into legend and infamy. The river is the very life force of this land, carving its way past dense rainforest and remote villages, where fishing pirogues and heavily laden barges ply their trade as they have done for generations. The river is the Congo, and this remarkable journey presents us with one of the last great adventures left in Africa.

Gorillas in Africas Midst

Tour Map of Gorillas in Africas Midst

Central Africa has long held a fascination for the intrepid and the curious. Here, amongst the impenetrable landscapes of Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', history and mountains lie shrouded in the mists of time. These jungles echo to the calls of great apes and karyenda drummers in a land forged by the violent upheavals of colonial war, civil strife and volcanic explosion.This remarkable and unique trip takes us across some of the most beautiful and emotive landscapes on the African continent, travelling through Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern Congo as we go in search of the largest gorillas on earth, bubbling lava lakes and a people whose lives and traditions have withstood imperialism and some of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. Beginning in Bujumbura we travel from the shores of Lake Tanganyika, into the Virunga Mountains and on to the expansive waters of Lake Kivu.Along the way we'll have a chance to visit the rare lowland gorillas of DR Congo's Kahuzi-Biega National Park, climb to the summit of one of the most active volcanoes in the world and meet a cast of fascinating and inspiring characters who will provide a truly unique insight into this incredible continent.