Ntokou-Pikounda National Park

Ntokou-Pikounda was created on 28 December 2012 after surveys found a very large population of western lowland gorillas - estimated at some 15,000 - in the forest between the Sangha and the Likouala, an area that had been little studied because much of it is seasonally flooded and hard to move through. The park covers about 4,570 square kilometres of swamp and terra firma forest, and it also holds an estimated 8,000 forest elephants and 950 chimpanzees; J. Michael Fay's Megatransect called it the Green Abyss.

The landscape

• The gorilla population - the concentration the surveys found before gazetting.
• The swamp forest - the flooded ground that kept the area unstudied for so long.
• The forest elephants - the population using the park.
• The 2012 designation - one of the country's newest national parks.

When to go

June to September is the drier season and the only practical window. Flooding governs access for much of the year. The area is extremely remote.

Things to know

There is no visitor infrastructure of any kind and access is by expedition with permits and guides. Gorilla sightings are very unlikely; the animals are unhabituated. Getting there takes days.

Nearby

Ouesso is north, and Nouabalé-Ndoki is beyond it.

Key facts