CULTURE VISIT TO MONGO TRIBE
Day 01: Europe-Entebbe
Arrive in Entebbe …at… Hrs; after completion of customs and immigration formalities you will be met by the Company name airport representative outside the baggage hall area, introduction to your Safari driver-guide. Transfer to your hotel name for overnight. (Bed & Breakfast)
Day 02: Kampala – Gisenyi border with D.R.Congo.
Arrive at la Corniche Gisenyi border meet your D.R.Congo driver-guide …at…Hrs; after completion of customs and immigration formalities transfer to your hotel for overnight. Overnight at Ihusi Hotel (Bed & Breakfast)
Day 03: Nyiragongo live volcano hike
Breakfast at your hotel, by 8:30, am, you will be driven to the base of Mount Nyiragongo one of the active volcanoes. Once at the base, you will get a briefing, and by 9:30 am you will start hiking, you can get porters to carry your bags (at an extra cost of USD 20 per porter, per day). Nyiragongo is at 3470m altitude, it takes between 5 to 6 hrs to get to the top. Camping at the top. Don’t expect to take a shower, though there is a field pit latrine for nature’s call. At night, you will be able to see the boiling magma. Overnight in basic Bungalows, but clean.
Day 04: Nyiragongo – Rumangabo
Early morning, you retrace your steps down the volcano. By 10:00 am, you will be picked up at the base and transferred to Mikeno lodge for lunch. The whole afternoon you will relax at your lodge, enjoying the beautiful view of Virunga national park. Overnight at Mikeno lodge (All meals)
Day 05: Rumangabo
Early breakfast at your lodge. Thereafter, depart to the park headquarters for a briefing on the Gorilla formalities. Tracking starts at 8:30 am. Gorillas trek in Bukima, park National des Virunga (former Albert cook National Park). You will spend up to 6hrs or more tracking the gorillas. Once with the gorillas, you will only be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. After trekking, transfer to your hotel; spend a second night at Mikeno lodge(all meals).
Day 06: Rumangabo- Goma
After a leisurely breakfast at your lodge, you depart for a trek into Parc National des Virunga in search of Chimpanzees. Afternoon transfer to Goma for overnight. Ihusi Hotel(bed & breakfast).
Day 07: Goma – Kinshasa
Leisurely breakfast at your hotel, then drive to Goma airport for your flight. Set on a scenic flight that takes you over the equatorial forest and magnificent Congo River. After a two hours flight, you with a stop at Babgoka airport for 30 minutes (Kisangani). Upon arrival in Kinshasa, you will be met by your driver, transfer to your hotel. Overnight: Grand Hotel(Bed & Breakfast)
Day 08: Bonobo sanctuary visit
Breakfast at your hotel, undertake a brief city tour of Kinshasa, then drive to Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary. Bonobo ( Pan paniscus ) are great ape species found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are endangered and may become extinct in the next coming years. Only a few of them remain in the wild today. Afternoon at leisure at your lodge Overnight: Grand Hotel(Bed & Breakfast)
Day 09,10 & 11: Kinshasa – Mbandaka
Breakfast at your hotel, then transfer to the beach and start the safari to Mbandaka on the Congo River. The Congo River is the largest river in western Central Africa and the most powerful on the continent. Its overall length of 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) makes it the second-longest in Africa (after the Nile). It is the fifth-longest river in the world, draining a basin of nearly 1.5 million square miles. The river also has the second-largest flow in the world, with a discharge of 1.5 million cubic feet of water per second Overnight on the boat.
Day 12: Mbandaka
Arrive in Mbandaka, check-in, and shower then city tour. Mbandaka, formerly (until 1966) Coquilhatville, city, northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo. It lies on the equator about 435 miles (700 km) northeast of Kinshasa, the national capital. It was a colonial administrative center from 1886. It is now a busy river port situated at the junction of the Congo and Ruki rivers midway on the Kinshasa-Kisangani shipping route. Overnight: Catholic lodge. (Full board)
Day 13: Visit lake Ntumba
Lake Tumba (or Ntomba) is a shallow lake in the northwestern part of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, in the Bikoro Territory of Equateur Province. The lake covers about 765 square kilometers (295 sq mi) depending on the season, connected via the Irebu channel with the Congo River. Water may flow into or out of the lake through this channel depending on the floods. Lake Tumba has 114 species of fish and supports important fisheries. Overnight: Mongo tribe village in tents.
Day 14: Visit the Mongo tribe
The Mongo is one of the Bantu groups of Central Africa, forming the second-largest ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are a diverse collection of peoples living in the equatorial forest, south of the main Congo River bend and north of the Kasaï and Sankuru Rivers. This area is in the south of the province of Equateur and the north of Bandundu Province. The Mongo speak either the Mongo language (also called Nkundo) or one of the related languages in the Bantu Mongo family. The Lingala language, however, often replaces Mongo in urban centers. Along with the Luba and the Kongo, they are the three largest ethnic groups in the country. The Mongo ethnic group is divided into several tribes including Bolia, Bokote, Bongandu, Ekonda, Ivaelima, Konda, Mbole, Mpama, Nkutu, Ntomba, Sengele, Songomeno, Dengese and Tetela – Kusu, Bakutu, Boyela. Overnight: Mongo tribe village in tents.
Day 15: Mbandaka
Today, after breakfast you will drive back to Mbandaka, check-in, and relax at your hotel. Overnight: Catholic lodge (all meals)
Day 16: Mbandaka – Kinshasa
Breakfast in the hotel and transfer to the airport. Flight to the capital. Free afternoon. Hotel
Day 17. Breakfast.
Last visits and transfer to the airport for the international flight back home.
Day 18. Arrival home
End of our services.