Maiko National Park

Maiko covers around ten thousand square kilometres of lowland and montane rainforest between Kisangani and the Kivus, and it is one of the least-visited protected areas in Africa. Three species make it significant: the okapi, the eastern lowland gorilla, and the Congo peacock, the only large pheasant in Africa and found in this country alone. The park has almost no infrastructure, patrol coverage is partial, and much of the interior has never been systematically surveyed.

What you actually see

• The rainforest - lowland and montane forest across the whole park, largely unsurveyed.
• The eastern lowland gorilla - present in the eastern sector, in unhabituated groups.
• The Congo peacock - Africa's only large pheasant, endemic to this country.
• The okapi - present through the forest, and effectively never seen.

When to go

The drier windows, December to February and June to August, are the only practical times, and even then movement is on foot. Rain falls year-round. Any visit is a planned expedition rather than a trip.

Honest expectations

There is no visitor infrastructure of any kind and no road into most of the park. Reaching it means days of walking with porters and full logistics arranged through the park authority. Wildlife is present but unhabituated and sightings are rare.

Nearby

Kisangani is far to the northwest, and the Kivu provinces lie east.