Kisangani

Kisangani stands at the point where the Congo becomes navigable, seventeen hundred kilometres upstream from Kinshasa, below the seven cataracts that end river traffic from the east. Founded as Stanleyville, it was the great inland port of the colonial river system and it retains the layout and some of the buildings: a cathedral, a university, wide avenues and warehouses along the water. Boats still leave for the long journey downstream, taking anything from a week to a month depending on what they are.

What you actually see

• The riverfront - the port and the barges that work the long route down to Kinshasa.
• Boyoma Falls - the seven cataracts on the city's eastern edge, which end navigation.
• The colonial fabric - the cathedral, university buildings and warehouses from the port era.
• The market - a large river market handling fish, cassava and forest produce.

When to go

The drier windows, December to February and June to August, are marginally easier, though rain falls in every month this close to the equator. River levels are highest around November and May.

Honest expectations

The city has declined a long way from its colonial-era scale and much of the fabric is derelict. Infrastructure is limited and power supply intermittent. River travel downstream is genuinely arduous and not a scheduled service in any normal sense.

Nearby

Boyoma Falls are on the city's edge, and the Lomami park is far to the south.