The second largest rainforest in the World, which is teeming with gorillas, forest elephants and other game!

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about 240,000 square miles (623,000 km²), and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2008. Bangui is the capital city.

Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas but it also includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two thirds of the country lies in the basins of the Ubangi River, which flows south into the Congo River, while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari River, which flows north into Lake Chad.

It became a semi-autonomous territory of the French Community in 1958 and then an independent nation on 13 August 1960. For over three decades after independence, the CAR was ruled by presidents who were not chosen in multi-party democratic elections or took power by force. Local discontent with this system was eventually reinforced by international pressure, following the end of the Cold War.

The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and among the ten poorest countries in Africa.

CAR is a remote country, and a lack of suitable air access makes it an expensive country to visit. The number of tourists is only about two hundred per annum, mostly viewing gorilla groups at Bai Hokou. It is, however, often very beautiful and the home to some amazing wildlife.

One of the main attractions is the Dsangha –Sangha National Park. It contains a variety of megafauna including lowland gorillas (estimated 2,000), forest elephants, bongo antelopes, forest buffaloes, white nose and moustache monkeys, bushpigs and duikers. Its many species of birds include the dark-crowned forest eagle which has a wingspan of more than 1.5metres and the blue –breasted kingfisher. There are about 4,500 inhabitants living in the Dsangha-Sangha Reserve area, of which some three thousand are from the native Baka tribe.

The other marquee attraction in the Republic is the Mbaiki Falls and the surrounding pigmy settlements. You really are in the territory of the intrepid explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley of “Doctor Livingstone, I presume” fame!

The best time to visit is between November and April, the “dry” season

dmAFRICA’s main activity in the Central African Republic is visits to the Dsangha-Sangha National Park. It lies in the extreme south west of the country, bordering Cameroon to the south west of the park and Republic of Congo-Brazzaville to the south east. Together with Cameroon’s Lobeke National Park and the Congo’s Odzala and Naoubale Ndoki National Park, this rainforest competes with the Amazon as the largest on Earth. The Sangha River links the three parks creating a viable safari circuit in an area protected by the World Wildlife Fund and other bodies. It is has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Safari into CAR with access from Cameroon