Lastoursville Caves

A band of limestone runs through the country around Lastoursville on the Ogooué, and water has cut caves into it: chambers with stalactites and flowstone, passages that run for some distance, and bats roosting in the deeper sections. Several are known and local guides take visitors into the more accessible ones. There is no lighting or built infrastructure, so torches are essential and the going is muddy. Some of the chambers carry markings and have been used ritually, and local guides will say which caves are open to visitors and which are not.

What you actually see

• The limestone chambers - rooms with stalactites and flowstone formations.
• The passages - the routes running back into the rock.
• The bat roosts - the colonies in the deeper sections.
• The river town - Lastoursville on the Ogooué above the caves.

When to go

June to September is the drier season and the caves are safest. Rain can flood the lower passages. Guides work from the town.

Honest expectations

There is no lighting or path; this is caving with torches and a guide. Passages flood after rain. There is nothing organised and arrangements are made informally in the town.

Nearby

Lastoursville is beside them, and Koulamoutou is south.