Bayanga

Bayanga sits on the Sangha river in the far southwest and is the base from which the Dzanga-Sangha protected areas are reached: the research station, the park offices, the guides and the trackers all work from here. It grew around a timber operation and the town still has that shape. Aka and Bantu communities live in and around it and most visitors to CAR who get this far stay here.

History

Bayanga began as a small Sangha fishing village in country traditionally home to the Aka, and in the 1970s a sawmill made it the main logging centre of the south-west. In 1988 the government and WWF launched the Dzanga-Sangha conservation project, which created the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park and the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in 1990 with Bayanga as their base, and from the mid-1990s it became a centre for ecotourism; by 2004 the sawmill employed about 400 people and conservation about 200 (Wikipedia, Bayanga).

What to look for

• The Sangha river - the water the town sits on.
• The park base - offices, guides and trackers working from the town.
• The timber town layout - the shape left by the logging operation.
• The communities - Aka and Bantu people living in and around the town.

When to go

December to February is the driest window and the road is best. The wet season makes the drive very difficult. Humidity is high year round.

Before you go

The drive from Bangui takes days and the road is poor. Accommodation is limited and must be booked through the park. There is little in the town itself for a visitor.

Nearby

Dzanga-Sangha is around it, and the Sangha river runs past.

Key facts