DZANGA-SANGHA SPECIAL RESERVE

Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve is 2,700 square miles of protected rainforest in southwestern Central African Republic. Connected to parks in Cameroon and Republic of Congo, it is part of the Sangha Trinational Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site protected area of over 4,000 square miles of the second largest rainforest on earth. This system is supplied mainly by the Sangha River running through the center of the Reserve. Along streams, forest clearings can be found with marshy depressions referred to as 'bai'. The Dzanga Bai, meaning “the village of elephants”, the largest bai in the area, teems with species ranging the from the elusive bongo to herds of forest elephants, forest buffalos, and red river hogs.

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This biodiverse area is home to a high diversity of plant, bird, and mammal species, including the critically endangered western lowland gorillas. Dzanga-Sanga has one of the highest population densities of western lowland gorillas in the world, with recent estimates of over 2,000 individuals living in this magnificent rainforest habitat, along with chimpanzees and over 15 rare monkey species.

Seasons

Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve is open year-round. The climate is tropical, with a relatively heavy rainfall during certain periods of the year, concentrating in a long rainy season from October to November and a short rainy season between May and June. The average minimum temperature is 68°F, while the average maximum temperature is 90°C, with high levels of humidity.

Wildlife

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Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve is home to approximately 100 mammal species, including one of the continent’s most diverse primate populations, over 4,500 plant species, and 400 species of birds. This vast and truly wild region, with its wide range of landscapes and habitat, is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife. Forest elephant, chimpanzees, leopards, bongos, forest buffalo, giant forest hogs, and hippos live alongside the greatest density of western lowland gorillas in Africa. Along with the great apes, Dzanga-Sangha is home to rare red colobus and black-and-white colobus monkeys, mangabeys, and many other arboreal primates. This area is also home to 3 species of the very rare pangolin.

Activities

Visit Dzanga Bai to witness the incredible diversity of animals congregate around this wide-open swamp area, including forest elephants, bongos, and gorillas.
Take a walk through the forest to magnificent waterfalls and the valley of the giants, some of the tallest trees in the Congo Basin.
Enjoy the experience of a lifetime as you trek through the rainforest to spend time observing the western lowland gorillas.
Spend the day hiking the forest trails and tracking mangabeys.
Spend time with the pangolin researchers who protect and monitor these animals’ activity and behavior each day. A you learn about their habitats and way of life, you will learn to appreciate this endangered species more than ever before.
Enjoy a forest night walk to view nocturnal forest life that comes alive as soon as darkness falls.
Partake in a cultural opportunity of witnessing the local Ba‘Aka people practicing traditional net hunting, hut building and collecting medicinal plants.
Relax on a Lekoli River cruise or kayak to absorb another view of this splendid wilderness.