Mbaéré-Bodingué National Park

Mbaéré-Bodingué takes in the lowland rainforest between the two rivers it is named for, in the southwest of the country, and was gazetted as a national park in 2007 out of what had been forestry concession ground. Forest elephant, bongo, gorilla and chimpanzee are present. The forest here is dense and wet, and the rivers with their flooded margins are the main way through it. The park adjoins the Ngotto forest to the east, and the two together make one large block of forest.

What you actually see

• The lowland rainforest - dense wet forest between the two rivers.
• The rivers - the Mbaéré and Bodingué and their flooded margins.
• The forest wildlife - elephant, bongo and the great apes.
• The 2007 gazetting - forestry ground converted to a national park.

When to go

December to February is the driest window. Tracks are impassable through much of the year. Humidity is high in any season.

Honest expectations

Access is genuinely difficult and needs arranging through the park management. There is no visitor infrastructure. Wildlife in dense forest is heard far more often than seen.

Nearby

Ngotto Forest is east, and M'Baïki is northeast.