Republic of the Congo

Brazzaville and the Sound of Rumba

Brazzaville is a city that dances. Facing Kinshasa across the Congo River in one of the world's most dramatic capital confrontations, the city pulses with Congolese rumba, cool bars along the corniche and colourful markets spilling into leafy colonial avenues. The waterfront Corniche at sunset, a cold Primus in hand while musicians tune up nearby, is one of Central Africa's great urban pleasures. Poto-Poto, the city's oldest neighbourhood, rewards anyone who wanders its streets with vivid street art, textile workshops and the celebrated Poto-Poto School of Painting.

Gorillas, Forest Elephants and Remarkable Parks

Odzala-Kokoua National Park is one of Africa's oldest and most rewarding parks, home to western lowland gorillas, forest elephants, bongo antelopes and more than 400 bird species. Guided tracking on foot through cathedral forest to sit within metres of a gorilla family is a genuinely life-altering experience. Further north, the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park forms the core of the Sangha Trinational, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape shared with Cameroon and the Central African Republic and among the most ecologically intact places on Earth.

Culture, Cuisine and the Art of the Possible

Congolese cuisine rewards curiosity with smoked fish wrapped in banana leaves, peppery saka-saka made from cassava leaves, grilled plantain at roadside stands and the rich peanut stews that anchor family meals across the country. The sapeur tradition, in which elegantly dressed men and women parade through Brazzaville neighbourhoods in spectacular tailored suits, is a joyful and defiant art form unique to the two Congos. Adventurous, unhurried and full of genuine warmth, the Republic of the Congo offers a Central African experience that few travellers have yet discovered.