Mayombe Forest

The Mayombe is a belt of hill forest running northwest to southeast across Congo's southwest and continuing into Cabinda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, wetter and denser than the country around it because the hills catch the moisture coming off the sea. It holds forest elephants, chimpanzees and a flora with a high proportion of species found only in this belt. The railway and the road to Brazzaville both cross it.

The landscape

• The hill forest - dense wet woodland on the ridges catching moisture off the sea.
• The endemic flora - the species restricted to this forest belt.
• The transboundary chain - the forest continuing into Cabinda and Congo-Kinshasa.
• The railway crossing - the Congo-Ocean line cutting through the massif.

When to go

June to September is the long dry season and the practical window. The forest is wet year round. Rain makes tracks impassable.

Practical notes

Logging has fragmented large parts of the massif. There is no visitor infrastructure and access to the protected areas needs permits. Wildlife is hard to see in closed forest.

Nearby

Dimonika is within it, and Pointe-Noire is southwest.