Ngaga Camp

the prime location for lowland gorillas

Ngaga Camp is located in the Odzala Kokoua area to the north of Congo Brazzaville.

The camp itself is set in a partially cleared area amidst marantaceae rainforest on a private concession area adjacent to the main Odzala Kokoua National Park.

It is approached up a long flight of wooden steps, first to a lovely campfire area and on to a large open-plan main building raised up on stilts and containing lounge and dining areas.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Ngaga Camp is in six unusual dome-thatched rooms which take their inspiration from the local B’Aka pygmies, each with private bathrooms and verandahs from which you can peer out into the forest.

Activities

The main activity at Ngaga Camp is gorilla tracking. There are two habituated gorilla families in the area and the guests of the camp are the only people able to visit them. Each day guests are divided into two groups and go off to visit a family, switching the next day to visit the other family.

The physical demands of trekking are not that great. You do need to be able to walk for four or five hours, but the pace is relatively gentle and the temperatures in the forest are not that great. In fact we found the terrain here a lot less challenging than in the mountain gorilla areas.

It should come as no surprise that, in such extremely remote and cutting edge location, trips are inherently very expensive. You may need to buy into the importance of the conservation efforts in this area, before you can justify the costs.

The usual stay duration in Odzala-Kokoua is 6-9 nights, usually split between two or three camps.

Seasonality

In Odzala-Kokoua, the very rainy tropical conditions are always challenging, but the two windows of Jan-Mar and Jun-Sep can be significantly drier, making for easier conditions underfoot.

Getting there

Access to Odzala-Kokoua is via a two hour shared charter flight from the capital, Brazzaville.

From the airstrip it is a drive of around an hour through some pretty and varied scenery to arrive at the camp itself.

It is possible to drive in, but it is a very arduous journey of at least one long day.

always combined with one or two other lodges in this area