The Congo River

The Congo River, sweeping in a immense arc through the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the greatest rivers on earth, the deepest in the world and the second longest in Africa, draining the vast Congo basin and the world's second-largest rainforest. For the peoples of the region it is a lifeline and a highway, its broad brown waters carrying barges, pirogues and floating markets through a landscape of forest, sandbanks and riverside villages. Near the twin capitals of Kinshasa and Brazzaville it broadens into the lake-like Pool Malebo before plunging through dramatic rapids. Legendary, powerful and teeming with life, the Congo is the mighty heart of central Africa.

History

The Congo basin is home to several hundred Bantu-speaking peoples, whose expansion is thought to have reached the middle Congo by about 500 BC and the upper Congo by the first century AD, while the descendants of earlier forest peoples remain in its remote forests. By the 13th century three confederations of states held the western basin, and the Kingdom of Kongo formed in the late 14th century on the left bank of the lower river. The Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the estuary in 1482 and set up a stone pillar on Shark Point, but the river's full course stayed unknown for centuries: Francisco de Lacerda reached the upper Luapula basin in 1796, Arab slave traders reached the upper Congo in the 19th century and founded Nyangwe around 1860, David Livingstone arrived there in March 1871, and only Henry Morton Stanley's expedition of 1876-77 established that the Lualaba was the upper Congo. It is the second-longest river in Africa, the third largest in the world by discharge, the deepest recorded, at around 220 m, and the only major river to cross the equator twice (Wikipedia, Congo River).

What's there

• The mighty river - the vast, deep waters sweeping through the forest.
• The river life - the barges, pirogues and floating markets.
• Pool Malebo - the lake-like widening by the capitals.
• The rainforest - the world's second-largest forest along its banks.

When to go

The drier months, roughly June to September, generally make river travel and riverside visits more comfortable, though the equatorial Congo basin is warm and humid year-round. The river is a constant presence and lifeline in every season, best experienced from its banks or by boat.

What to expect

The Congo is a working river through a vast, challenging country, so travelling any distance on it is an adventurous undertaking rather than a tourist cruise, and its scale can be humbling. As one of the greatest rivers on earth, the deep and legendary artery of the Congo basin and its immense rainforest, though, the Congo River is a place of genuine grandeur and endless fascination.

Nearby

The capital Kinshasa and the rainforest of the interior lie along the river.

Key facts