Ogooué-Leketi National Park

Ogooué-Leketi was gazetted in 2018 on the Gabonese border, covering some three and a half thousand square kilometres of forest and Batéké plateau savanna, and it adjoins Gabon's Batéké Plateau park to form a transboundary block. Gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants and buffalo use it, and the mosaic of grassland and forest supports a different set of species from the closed forest further north. The gazetting followed years of survey work by conservation organisations that documented the ape populations moving across the border in both directions.

History

From 2004 the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Ministry of Forestry Economy carried out biological and social surveys of the proposed park, three logging concessions overlapping it were closed, and the park was established on 9 November 2018, covering 3,500 km² on the border with Gabon's Batéké Plateau National Park (Wikipedia, Ogooué-Leketi National Park).

What's there

• The savanna and forest mosaic - plateau grassland running into closed forest.
• The transboundary link - the join with Gabon's Batéké Plateau park.
• The great apes - gorillas and chimpanzees present through the forest.
• The 2018 designation - one of the newest parks in the country.

When to go

June to September is the long dry season and the practical window. The rains make tracks impassable. Wildlife is dispersed in any season.

Things to know

There is essentially no visitor infrastructure and access requires an expedition with permits. Wildlife is unhabituated and sightings are unlikely. Everything must be arranged well in advance.

Nearby

The Gabon border is west, and Brazzaville is far east.

Key facts