DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO > AFRICA > INDEX


Regions in Congo : Bandundu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur, Haut-Zaire, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Maniema, North-Kivu, Shaba, South Kivu

Democratic Republic of the Congo and one of the largest countries on the African continent, is located in South Central Africa with a narrow strip of land on the northern bank of the Zaire River. It is bound by the Republic of Congo and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola to the southwest, Zambia to the southeast, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda to the east, Sudan to the northeast and the Central African Republic to the north and northwest

Years of civil war and corruption have badly damaged the country's infrastructure.

National Capital City of the Democratic republic of the Congo: Kinshasa


car hire, hotels, travel agencies, travel guides, transportation / traveling to the democratic republic of the congo

links


Car Rental Congo

 Europcar - Kinshasa
Only new rental cars [ average age only 6 months ], All inclusive prices, 24 hours roadside assistance, 24/7 service most airports.

 Avis
World's second largest general-use car rental business, providing business and leisure customers with a wide range of services.
 Hertz

Hotels Republic of Congo

 

National Parks

Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

 Bombo-Lumene Game Reserve
Located 130 kilometers from Kinshasa on the road to Kikwit in the Bandundu Province.
 Virunga National Park - with the Nyiragongo volcano
Not far away from the border with Rwanda.

 Albertine Rift
Stretching from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tanganyika and extending through the countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Tanzania, the Albertine Rift is one of Africa's most important sites for the conservation of biodiversity.

 WCS Congo
Since 1895, WCS has worked from our Bronx Zoo headquarters to save wildlife and wild lands throughout the world. We uniquely combine the resources of wildlife parks in New York with field projects around the globe to inspire care for nature, provide leadership in environmental education, and help sustain our planet's biological diversity.

Travel Agents / Tour Operators

 Truck Africa - camping safari's - last great overland challenge
The idea of TA is to provide such a quality overland trips at a realistic price more likely to appeal to the adventurous in spirit.



 Responsibletravel.com - African safaris & holidays
100's of holidays to Africa from dozens of leading specialist tour companies and accommodations who are passionate about conserving Africa's wildlife and benefiting its people.

Travel Guides Congo / Related Books

 The Long Follow: J. Michael Fay's Epic Trek Across the Last Great Forests of Central Africa
by David Quammen (Author)
Hardcover: 368 pages; Publisher: National Geographic (November 21, 2006); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0792255666; ISBN-13: 978-0792255666
 The Okapi: Mysterious Animal of Congo-Zaire - Susan Lyndaker Lindsey
A complete natural history of the okapi, a relation of the giraffe, which lives in the Cong-Zaire rainforests.
Paperback 131 pages (July 1999); Publisher: University of Texas Press; Language: English; ISBN: 0292747071
 East Along the Equator: A Journey Up the Congo and into Zaire 
Helen Winternitz
Paperback 274 pages (August 25, 2000); Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing,US; Language: English; ISBN: 0871131625
 One Hundred Years of Darkness: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of Congo 
Jon Swain (Foreword), Marcus Bleasdale (Photographer)
Published to mark the centenary of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" this large format book of black and white photographs of contemporary Congo combines haunting images by Marcus Bleasdale with an essay by Jon Swain of London's Sunday Times. Each photograph is accompanied by a quote from the classic novel and extended captions detail life in the former Belgian colony...
... Jailed four times in the two years he spent taking these photographs, Marcus Bleasdale faced daily threats and intimidation in order to capture life under Kabila s brutal regime. He is one of the few photographers to penetrate contemporary Congo's interior. Bleasdale s photographs peel away the strata of mud, water and time that overlay a century of life on the Congo River, to reveal that not very much has changed. ..
Hardcover 144 pages (July 24, 2002); Publisher: Pirogue Press; Language: English; ISBN: 0954301501
 Heart of Darkness - Penguin Popular Classic - Joseph Conrad
In this tale of colonial exploitation, the narrator, Marlowe, journeys deep into the heart of Africa. But there he encounters Kurtz, an idealist apparently crazed and depraved by his power over the natives, and the meeting prompts Marlowe to reflect on the darkness at the heart of all men.
Paperback 112 pages (April 28, 1994); Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.; Language: English; ISBN: 0140620486

Transport / How do I get to the Democratic Republic of Congo

Maybe the best way is to fly to Brazzaville and use this as a home base for your visit.

 Kinshasa Airport - N'Dolo Airport
 Brazzaville Airport [ Republic of the Congo ]

 Airline Tickets / Bargain Flights

 SNCC - Congolese National Railways
Freight and passenger service in the Democratic Republic of Congo

There are ferries crossing the de Congo River between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

 Map of the Democratic Republic of Congo [ Uni Texas - Perry-Castañeda Library - Map Collection ]


Links  

 Travel Insurance

 Government - Republique Democratique du Congo

 Kinshasa - Capital City of DROC
The capital, Kinshasa, is located in the country's western salient, immediately across the Congo River from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo

 Bandundu
The Bandundu province is characterized by savannah covered plateaus which are cut by streams and rivers. All along the waterways one finds pockets of thick forest.
Most villages are located on the plateaus and villagers travel daily, down into the valleys to farm the rich soils in the forest.  Slash and burn agriculture is practiced, where the forest is cleared and burned in order to plant fields. Main crops include manioc (cassava), maize, squash, and beans. See Congo-pages.org.
 Bas Congo - see Congo-pages - Bas Congo
 Katanga - see Congo-pages - Katanga
 Kivu - see Congo-pages - Kivu

 Bas-Zaire
 Equateur
 Haut-Zaire
 Kasai-Occidental
 Kasai-Oriental
 Maniema
 Nord-Kivu
 Shaba
 Sud-Kivu

 Bukavu
 Goma - North-Kivu
 Kasenga at the Luapula River
 Kashobwe at the Luapula River
 Kilwa
 Lubumbashi - important market town
 Matadi - capital city Beneden-Kongo [ Matadi = stone in the Kikongo language ]
 Pweto at the Moero Lake

 Bonobo [ Pygmy Chimpanzee ] 
Biologically speaking, bonobos are the closest you can get to being human without being human. Bonobos look more like humans than other apes, and display many behavioral similarities as well. See for more Bonobo Conservation Initiative.
 Congopost.com  - Kinshasa Daily
 ongopresse.net 
 Congotrek - a trip through the 'Heart of Africa'
For 15 months Wildlife Conservation Society biologist J. Michael Fay hiked across central Africa [ 3,200 kilometers ] through dense forests and remote villages - to Africa's Atlantic coast.
 Jef Geeraerts - Belgian writer - has lived in Belgian Congo fo a long time
See Wikipedia [ Dutch language ] or Wikipedia [ English, very brief ]
 Lake Moero in Katanga
 Luapala River - borders Zambia
 Nyiragongo volcano
Nyiragongo is associated with the East African Rift and is part of the Virunga Volcanic Chain. It is in the Congo, not far from the border with Rwanda. Nyiragongo is in Virunga National Park and is of Africa's most active volcanoes.
 Okapi
The okapi is a mammal of the Ituri Rainforest in central Africa. Although it bears striped markings reminiscent of the zebra, it is most closely related to the giraffe ... See Wikipedia.

 Radio - Television Nationale Congolaise (RTNC) - state-controlled terrestrial and satellite TV
See LyngSat Address.
 Radio Okapi - UN-backed politically-independent network, on FM and shortwave

Cuisine - Democratic Republic Congo Foods / Recipes

 Cassava bread
Known as 'luku' in Bandundu and is eaten with side dishes of meat and vegetables.
 Chikwanga - cassave root
Western part of Bas-Congo is also known for its "chikwanga" which is cassava root pounded into a paste, wrapped in forest leaves, and boiled.  It is sold in the same leaves and is known to make a good travel food, as the leaf wrapping keeps the chikwanga fresh
 Lunguila wine / sugar cane wine
A favorite local drink made in western Bas-Congo is "lunguila" or sugar cane wine. Sugar cane is peeled and the central portion of the cane stalk which contains the juice is cut and placed in a press. The resulting juice is then set aside to ferment. The wine is then enjoyed, after a few days of fermentation
 Saka-madesu
The northern Bas-Congo area of Mayombe is known for a dish called "saka-madesu". This delicious dish is a combination of stewed manioc leaves and beans. The sauce is made by cooking manioc leaves together with the beans in a palm oil sauce.

 South of the Sahara: Traditional Cooking from the Lands of West Africa 
By Elizabeth A. Jackson
Come and discover the rich and sultry blend of meats, tropical fruits, vegetables, grains, spices and oils that served as the foundation of West African life for centuries. The history of these lands is as rich as the spicy food. Learn about ancient empires and the origins of modern nations as you choose from a selection of 120 tempting dishes.
Paperback 204 pages (June 25, 1999); Publisher: Fantail

The Best of African Cooking 
By Manjase Banda (Author), Esanjam (Producer)
Paperback: 144 pages; Publisher: Esanjam; 2 Revised edition (March 14, 2007); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0954682130; ISBN-13: 978-0954682132

 African Recipes 

History of DR Congo

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago, and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries by Bantus from present-day Nigeria.
European exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s. The area was first mapped by the British explorer Stanley. He prepared the region for European colonization. Congo was given to King Leopold II of Belgium in the Conference of Berlin in 1885. He made the land his private property and named it 'Congo Free State'. In this Free State, the local population was brutalized in exchange for rubber, a growing market with the developement of rubber tires. See for more Wikipedia - Democratic Republic of the Congo

 The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo - Robert B. Edgerton
Hardcover 320 pages (December 2002); Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Language: English; ISBN: 0312304862
 The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History - Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja 
The people of the Congo have suffered a particularly brutal experience of colonial rule; and, following independence in 1960, external interference by the United States, the rapaclous and dictatorial regime of Mobutu, and periodic warfare which even now continues fitfully in the East of the country. But the Congolese people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down. They have struggled to improve their living conditions by trying both to establish democratic institutions at home and to free themselves from exploitation from abroad. Professor Nzongola-Ntalaja's deep knowledge of personalities and events, and his understanding of the underlying class, ethnic and other factors at work, make this a compelling, lucid, radical and utterly unromanticized account. Paperback 320 pages (February 2002); Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.; Language: English; ISBN: 1842770535
 The Assassination of Lumumba - Ludo de Witte
Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Republic of the Congo and a pioneer of African unity, was at the centre of the country's popular defiance towards the relentless exploitation of its Belgian coloniser. Within months of independence being won he Patrice Lumumba was arrested, tortured and executed. "The Murder of Lumumba" reveals the appalling mass of lies that have surrounded the murder. Uncovering official sources and personal testimony, it reveals a network of complicity ranging from the Belgian government to the United Nations and the CIA.
Paperback 248 pages (September 30, 2002); Publisher: Verso Books; Language: English; ISBN: 1859844103

Music, Culture & Entertainment

 The Swahili (The Peoples of Africa) - Mark Horton, John Middleton
The Swahili are one of the best known of the peoples of Africa. Living along the East African coast, they acted as commercial middlemen, exchanging the commodities of continental Africa, such as gold, copper, slaves, ivory, skins and timber with the luxury items of the classical, oriental and Islamic worlds. They were central participants in a global economy, long before the era of European expansion. This book is one of the first to draw on recent archaeological findings and a re-assessment of the historical and anthropological evidence to provide an account of this remarkable African civilization covering some two thousand years. This book is essential reading not only for Africanists, but also for those dealing with the history of Islam, Mediterranean history, and Indian Ocean studies, and for those who wish to understand how trading societies organize their landscape, society, governance and belief systems.
Hardcover 288 pages (January 6, 2001); Publisher: Blackwell Publishers; Language: English; ISBN: 063118919X
 See Wikipedia
Since the colonial era, Kinshasa, Congo's capital, has been one of the great centers of musical innovation, ranking alongside Nairobi, Johannesburg and Abidjan in influence. The country, however, was carved out territories controlled by many different ethnic groups, many of which had little in common with each other. Each maintained (and continue to do so) their own folk music traditions, and there was little in the way of a pan-Congolese musical identity until the 1940s...
 Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos 
Gary Stewart
This work portrays an era when the currents of tradition and modernization collided along the banks of the Congo Rivers. It is the story of twin capitals engulfed in political struggle and the vibrant music that flowered amidst the ferment.
Hardcover 400 pages (February 8, 2000); Publisher: Verso Books; Language: English; ISBN: 1859847447.
 Yaka Sculpture - slit drums, masks, stools
'The most important event in the Yaka ceremonial cycle is the initiation of young boys into adulthood. To mark the end of the educational period, festivities are held in which the initiates perform with newly carved masks. Additionally, it showcases the most startling masks and the most spectacular dances'.

Web portals / Search Engine / Directory

 Congo-pages.org 
 Matadi.iscool.net 
 Ne-Kongo.net  - directory

 Yahoo Democratic Republic of The Congo Directories

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Cities: Bandundu (Banningville), Bukavu (Constermansville), Djokupunda (Charlesville), Ilebo (Port-Francqui), Isiro (Paulis), Kalemie (Albertville), Kananga (Luluabourg), Kinshasa (Léopoldville), Kisangani (Stanleyville), Likasi (Jadotville), Lubumbashi (Élisabethville), Lukutu (Élisabetha), Lusanga (Leverville), Mbandaka (Coquilhatville), Mbanza-Ngungu (Thysville), Moba (Baudoinville), Mobaye-Mbongo (Banzyville), Mbuji-Mayi (Bakwanga), Ubundu (Ponthierville)


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