(Photo crédit: Gergely Lantai Csont, FESNAG, 2012)
Overview
This 14 days DR Congo ultimate expedition package brings you to Congo. It features Nyiragongo, a stratovolcano that boasts the world’s largest lava lake, the mountain gorillas in the Virunga national park and the Gungu Festival which is a celebration of Congolese people’s way of life, traditions and cultural values. Mountain gorillas are fewer than 1000 in the whole world and a glimpse at these unique creatures is such a dramatic experience.
The trek up to the volcano will not be the easiest (it takes 4 to 6 hours). However, it will completely worth it once at the top. The lava lake is incredible, and tourists spend hours watching the waves of lava and listening to its roars.
As a highlight of this DR Congo ultimate expedition, you will participate to the Gungu Festival which regroups the best dancers and artists from 26 Provinces of the Congo. The festivals which is now a national festivals attracts visitors and performers from Africa and all around the world. Interesting dances, vibrant music and a great variety of masks will appear during this 4 days music and dance festival are just glimpses of what to expect during the festival.
In the afternoon, you will be picked from Goma International Airport by our representative guide.
Upon your arrival, your guide will drive you to Sake (an hour drive). In Sake, you will meet witches and witch doctors as you take them photos while they do their rituals. If lucky enough and depending on the season, you will experience lightnings in Sake Village. The village is classed among the world’s top lightnings hot spots by NASA receiving 143.21 lightning flashes per square kilometer per year. In the evening, you will be brought to your hotel in Goma for rest and overnight.
Dinner and Overnight at Bakandja Hotel (Midrange)
In the morning, you will go for a crash Goma city tour that will involve the Chukudu Monument, the Goma beach, Goma downtown, the lava fields, the city vibes, the people, the market and shopping for some Congolese hand crafts. You will end your tour with tasting local food at Maghali Restaurant. In the Afternoon, proceed to Virunga National Park.
Dinner and overnight at Kibumba Tented Camp
After an early breakfast at Kibumba Tented Camp, trekkers will head down the hill to meet their Ranger guides and have a briefing before the gorilla trek. Treks usually require 1-2.5hours of hiking each way, depending on location of the gorilla group being trekked and the difficulty of the terrain. After spending the allotted hour with gorilla family group, trekkers will make their back to camp, enjoy a late lunch and have the rest of the day at leisure, including time for nature walks and bird watching.
After breakfast in Kibumba, proceed to Kibati Ranger post at 8:15am, departure point for the Nyiragongo volcano trek. The climb up the volcano will take around four to six hours and trekkers will overnight on the summit.
After a morning breakfast, you will start the descent from the summit of Nyiragongo Volcano. You will reach Kibati at around 10 o’clock. You will then be driven to your hotel in Goma. Spend the rest of the day resting.
After an early breakfast at your hotel, you will be brought to Goma International Airport. From there you will embark in a 2 hours’ flight to Kinshasa. Upon arrival in Kinshasa, our representative will whisk away to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day unwinding.
Overnight and dinner at Léon Hotel
On this day you will discover Kinshasa's vibrant culture and history on a tour of the city that explores local landmarks, a bustling market, and the banks of the churning Congo River. Traveling with a local guide, you'll learn the stories behind each place you see, from the National Museum to Kabila's Mausoleum and the Place of Independence.
You will also be brought in another incredibly unique aspect of Kinshasa, Sapeurs. La Sape is an abbreviated way to refer to the movement of Sapeurs. The translated meaning of the term La Sape is "Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People". Also known as Congolese Dandies, the importance of physical appearance and attire is of the utmost and this is very clear, as you will see. You will experience the city in the safety of a private vehicle that will comfortably accommodate you, with all entrance fees included.
Dinner and overnight at Leon Hotel
We will dedicate this day to discover the various religions of the Congo. We will visit a charizmatic church. Only in Kinshasa there are more than 700 existing small churches. Sunday and night time church gatherings are considered as community get togethers, where ’prophets’ give lectures, and the priests cure different sicknesses.
Visit to Kimpoko, a Teke village 70 km from Kinshasa. Guided walk around the village where we will meet locals of the Teke ethnic group and will get acquainted with their daily life and material culture. Visit to the school, the Catholic Church, the fields and some huts. Children will perform cultural plays, music, and dances. Surprise gastronomic program with Papa Paul where the bravest will be rewarded! Dinner at “Petit Paradise” restaurant, at the banks of the Congo River, with a beautiful view. Travel along the Congo River in wooden canoes. In the evening return to your hotel.
Day 10 - Day 13
In the frame of this festival, Pende people commemorate their ancestors by masked dances that they authentically use during the initiation rituals of Pende men into their society. Pende men undergo three different initiation ceremonies: mukanda, mungonge and kela, all of them replete with mystical and magical elements. The initiates are able to cut open their stomach and hold their insides while dancing, or they stick twigs through their cheek. Humans metamorphosize into animals or do other sorts of invisible wizardry under cover of darkness...
As a highlight of this Congo Expedition, we will participate at the Gungu Festival which regroups the best dancers and artists from 26 Provinces of the Congo. Interesting dances, vibrant music and a great variety of masks will appear during this 4 days music and dance festival. Night in Gungu, at the festival village
You will return to Kinshasa and be brought to your hotel / N’djili International Airport for departure.
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