Batéké Plateaus

The Batéké plateaus north of Brazzaville are a landscape unlike the forest that covers most of the Congo basin: deep sandy soil carrying open grassland, cut by valleys where gallery forest runs along the rivers, and rolling for a very long way. The sand is so porous that surface water is scarce despite the rainfall. Batéké communities live on the plateaus, and Léfini and Lésio-Louna reserves cover parts of them.

The landscape

• The sand grassland - open plateau country unlike the forest around it.
• The gallery forest - the wooded strips along the river valleys.
• The porous soil - sand deep enough that surface water is scarce despite the rain.
• The Batéké communities - the people whose country the plateaus are.

When to go

June to September is the long dry season and the practical window. Grass is burned in the dry months. The rains make tracks difficult.

What to expect

Roads and tracks are sandy and need four-wheel drive. There is little infrastructure outside the reserves. Wildlife on the open plateau is sparse.

Nearby

Léfini is within them, and Brazzaville is south.

Key facts