Ituri Rainforest

The Ituri is one of the largest continuous blocks of lowland rainforest in Africa, running across the northeast of the country between the Congo basin and the Albertine rift. It is the forest that made the okapi known to science in 1901, and it is the home of Mbuti and Efe communities whose hunting and gathering life in it has been documented for a century. The canopy is dense, the rivers are black with tannin, and the forest supports one of the richest primate assemblages anywhere.

What you actually see

• The forest - continuous lowland rainforest with a closed canopy over most of its area.
• The rivers - blackwater streams cutting through under the trees.
• The Mbuti communities - people whose forest life has been recorded since the early twentieth century.
• The wildlife - okapi, forest elephant and thirteen or more primate species.

When to go

The relatively drier windows, December to February and June to August, are the practical times, though rain falls in every month. Walking is done early in the day. Roads through the forest deteriorate badly in the wet.

Honest expectations

Visits to Mbuti communities are arranged in very different ways by different operators, and it is worth asking directly who is paid and on what terms. The forest is hard going: hot, wet, and full of biting insects. There is no visitor infrastructure outside the reserve stations.

Nearby

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve lies within the forest, and Mambasa is on the road through it.