Fun things to do in Democratic Republic of Congo

4 more images

Nyiragongo is an active and dangerous volcano dominating the skyline of Goma. On January 17, 2002 a massive eruption destroyed more than 15% of Goma killing scores of people and leaving 120,000 homeless. The black lava rock is still there and a lot of new homes, shops and markets have been built on top of it. The lava deposits are so deep and wide that most of the area resembles a black coal mine.

Nyiragongo has erupted at least 34 times since records were started in 1884. It is related to the even more dangerous Nyamulagira Volcano (5 miles away) which is erupting at the time of writing. They are both located where the African plate is breaking apart and together account for 40% of all recorded African volcanic eruptions.

Nyiragongo is a Stratovolcano which are characterised by high cones and explosive eruptions. It is currently 3,470 metres high (11,384 feet) and some its eruptions have been continuous for more than a year at a time. The longest eruption lasted 50 years! It partly overlaps 2 older volcanoes, Baratu and Shaheru, and is surrounded by hundreds of small cinder cones caused by minor side eruptions. You can see one of the older volcanos in the first picture if you look at it carefully.

It has an active lava lake inside the crater and can sometimes be visited by tourists. I was unable to do so during my visit because of armed rebels in the area. Between guerrilla activity and volcanic instability, you definitely need to hire a qualified guide to climb and camp on the volcano. The Tour Company I used to track the Mountain Gorillas, Hakuna Matata Tours , can organise this for you and advise you of the current availability.

Nyiragongo has recorded eruptions during these years:
1884, 1891, 1894, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1911, 1918, 1920-21, 1922-77!, 1977, 1994-96, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007-09.

2 more images

Mountain Gorilla tour

After that u can visity moutain gorillas in Jomba or Bukima, and lowland Gorillas in kahuzi biega from Goma. Although strong and powerful, Congo gorillas are generally gentle and shy. at 250$ u are permited to enter the park escorted by rangers and stay with gorillas one hour . wanderfull experience u can t imagine.rangers will tell u to keep distance of it but be sure that after some munites Gorillas baby will come closer of u, touching u,they can even take your cameras and run away with it, i don t know what they will do with it

Tilapia is the fish caught in the local lake Kivu, near Bukavu. At the time of our visit, it was plentiful and if cooked well is extremely tasty. Fried with some spices we found to be best.
Often it was served with Cassava, the staple root vegetable of the area which is quite stodgy and doesn't have much taste but provides you with some carbs. If the tilapia is a good one you can manage the cassava!
Local vegetables were extremely good - carrots and green beans particularly.

Marvellous falls are also represented in DRC, of which the most spectacular is certainly that of Lofoi.
Lofoi falls is indeed the highest of Africa and the second in the world (after Salto Angel in Venezuela), with 384 m of height and a continuous water jet of 347 Mr.... The falls of Lofoï is located in the national park of Kundelungu in Katanga region DRC.

The most important things to do in congo is to visit gorillas in Virunga national park, take a cruise on the river congo in a boat from kinshasa to kisangani or from kisangani to kinshasa, and after that visit the touwn of Goma, this town has been destroyed by the lava of the live nyiragongo volcanoe in 2002. people runed to Rwanda coming back to Goma no Houses. Nyiragongo volcanoe is fund at 15kms of goma and can be ascended for 100$. Don forget to visit caves and pygmies in Djomba it's verry important. Djomba is situeted near the border Of Uganda and DRC, 10kms from kisoro, and 90kms from Goma.

At that time (1973), Lubumbashi was one of the major cities outside of Kinshasa. Things were a little run-down but it was a chance to experience something different. This area of Zaire contains the country's major mineral deposits so it was always a very contentious issue as to who was exerting control here. There was a foreign exchange rule that visitors had to spend at least 20 Zaires/day ($40 US) because of their need for hard cash, and that was a lot of money for a poor Volunteer! Photo of a sidewalk cafe in Lubumbashi during that particular trip.

A cruise on the Congo River in a motorised wooden boat from Kinshasa to kisangani or from Kisangani to Kinshasa promises great of experiences, like meeting the local fishermen,pygmies, who live on floating villages. DONT MISS THIS

SOME MAJOR TOURISTIC SITES INSIDE AND AROUND KINSHASA 1 Grand Marche, 2 The tomb of former President Laurent Kabila 3 The "Academie des Beaux Arts" (Art - Culture - History) 4 Kinsuka for those who like african art. 5 Site touristic de Bombo lumene (picnic).... 6 Kinkole ( Take a tour by boat, with a picnic on the banks of the Congo river, out of the fishermen's village of Kinkole.)....