The Langoue Bai and the Kongou falls in Ivindo, trip to Gabon
On our last trip to Gabon in June 2025 we visited two of the wildest and most beautiful places in the country, the Langoue Bai and the Kongou falls in the Ivindo National Park. Situated in the centre-east of Gabon and crossed by the Equator, Ivindo National Park is located between the provinces of Ogooué-Ivindo and Ogooué-Lolo and is one of the 13 national parks of Gabon. The Ivindo National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 28 July 2021.
How to visit Ivindo National Park?
The towns of Makokou and Booue are the gateways to the Ivindo National Park. If you want to reach the Kongou Falls in the northern part of the park, you will have to travel to Makokou, and if you want to visit the Langoue Bai in the south of the park, you will have to go to Booue. To visit Ivindo, you need to be fully equipped and arrange your visit in advance, as there are no private hotels or lodges in the national park.
The Langoue Bai, the natural jewel of Gabon
In my opinion the natural jewel of Gabon. Located in the south of the Ivindo National Park, the Langoue Bai is a forest clearing nestled in the middle of a vast expanse of forest. This bai (Baaka word meaning ‘clearing crossed by a river’ or ‘where animals eat’) is the meeting place of numerous forest elephants, groups of gorillas, sitatungas and a multitude of birds that come to this forest clearing to feed, socialise, drink, bathe and obtain minerals.
The Langoue Bai is home to the largest concentration of gorillas in Gabon and although their presence is not guaranteed, different groups of gorillas normally frequent the Bai for a good part of the year. Our visit to the Bai was marked by luck as we were able to see in one day about 40 elephants and about 10 gorillas from different groups that were in the Bai for several hours eating and sharing space with elephants and sitatungas.
The studies of WCS Gabon, the organisation that managed the Bai de Langoue in the past, carried out different works and studies over the years in Ivindo. In their articles about the Bai de Langoue, they count 90 elephants per day in the ‘high season’, as well as huge herds of wild boar and buffalo, which we did not see during our stay.
Other emblematic bai in Africa
The Langoue Bai in Gabon is one of the five most important forest clearings on the African continent. The others are the Bai de Dzanga in Central African Republic which hosts the largest concentration of elephants with peaks like the one we saw in May 2025 of 148 elephants at the same time.
Another would be the Mbeli Bai in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo (closed to tourism for years) which is home to possibly the largest concentration of gorillas in Africa with over 60 individuals counted at any one time, usually sharing space with elephants. The other two bais are thought to be in Odzala National Park, also in the Republic of Congo, but we have no information about them. These Bai are not the only ones in this part of Africa, there are many others in many other national parks but perhaps these are the most important.
The Langoue Bai in Ivindo ‘discovered’ very recently
The rediscovery of the Langoue Bai in 2000 by Mike Fay during the MegaTransect, a 3200 kilometers trek through some of the most remote and extensive remaining forests on Earth, and because of its importance, marked a turning point in Gabon’s conservation.
How to visit the Langoue Bai in Ivindo?
As with any trip to Gabon, transport is the most difficult part of the trip and takes up a large part of the budget. Getting to Booue is relatively easy from Libreville and takes no more than a day. You can travel to Booue by minibus with daily connections or by train about 3 times a week. Booue has basic accommodation as well as local restaurants and a few shops.
From Booue onwards, things get more complicated, as you will need a good 4×4, everything you need to spend several days in the jungle, guides, cooks, etc, etc. From Booue you reach the decadent town of Ivindo a few dozen kilometres away. The crossing of the Ivindo river makes the journey difficult as the ferry authorities, who are the chiefs of the village of Ivindo, can randomly refuse to operate the ferry and ask for exorbitant amounts of money. Personally, we spent about a day and a half waiting to cross the Ivindo River, and the authorities of the Ivindo National Park went to talk to the village chiefs. In the village of Ivindo there is practically nothing beyond the train station, some dead bars and abandoned houses.
If all goes well, it takes about 3 hours by car from Ivindo to the last passable part of the track. The track turns from a wide, well-maintained track into a narrow, muddy road, where trees are constantly being cut through, so a chainsaw is a must. Encounters with elephants, buffaloes or gorillas are common along the route.
Once we reach the last point that is passable by car, inside the Ivindo National Park, we leave the car parked and take all our supplies and luggage to walk for more than 2 hours through the forest to the Langoue camp. The hike is tough as there are some steep climbs on the way up. In addition we have to carry all our belongings and food although the local team, guides and trackers will always lend a hand to the visitor. Until a few months ago there were some 4×4 Quads to support us on this trek but these have broken down and are totally abandoned and unusable. A pity.
Where to sleep? Langoue camp and Bai viewing platform
The Langoue camp is situated in a granite semi-clearing in the forest, an hour and a quarter’s walk from the Langoue Bai. The site is formidable and the facilities, now in a poor state of maintenance, are still very functional. In the past, this was WCS’s major logistical base. This camp has several wooden bungalows, kitchens, lounges, bathrooms and a nearby river for washing. The lack of maintenance over the years and the semi-abandonment today make some repairs obvious, necessary and urgent.
The same is happening with the large three-tiered viewing platform at the Langoue Bai. It is in a dramatic state of conservation and, if no one takes urgent action, I don’t think it will last much longer. It is a pity really, because the place is wonderful and when you visit it, you get an idea of all the effort it took to build all these infrastructures in such a remote place. Let’s hope that the authorities in charge and in management will urgently remedy the situation, especially the viewpoint. The Langoue Bai is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful places in Africa.
The Langoue Bai viewpoint offers the possibility of camping, a top experience, totally recommended. The local team of cooks and guide brought us meals from the camp to this wonderful place.
How to get to Kongou Falls?
The distance between Libreville and Makokou is about 550 kilometres, and if all goes well it takes about 12 to 14 hours to reach Makokou by road. The route is a combination of tarmac road and dirt track, sometimes in good condition and sometimes in poor condition. There is a good daily public transport service between these towns. Once you arrive in Makokou, the northern gateway to Ivindo National Park, you will need to make all the necessary arrangements to continue on to the waterfalls.
From Makokou to the jetty is about 10 kilometres of track, where we take a motor canoe to Kongou. The trip takes about 3 hours and a bit more on the way back, as it is against the current.
Ivindo River
The Ivindo River, after which the national park is named, flows through untouched rainforest with abundant wildlife and is characterised by waterfalls and rapids, which are common along the 40-kilometers stretch from Makokou to Kongou.
The Kongou Falls, another highlight of Ivindo National Park in Gabon
Our trip to Gabon continues. The motorised canoe trip from Makokou to Kongou is formidable. At the end of June, the end of the rainy season and the river has a devilish force. There are many islands in the Ivindo River, sometimes on the main channel and sometimes on the smaller channels. An impassable wall of 30 or 40 metre high trees and dense vegetation escorts us on our navigation. The scenery is spectacular.
The Kongou Falls stretch over a width of 3 kilometres. Here, the Ivindo River splits into dozens of small channels and becomes a maze of waterfalls of different heights, slides and rapids large and small. Searching for the scenic spots requires a few hours of hiking through the jungle.
To discover one of the best views of Kongou you have to hike for 3 hours and take a support canoe. In those days the Ivindo river was flowing down with tremendous force and after our guide took the canoe, he could not get control of it, crashing into some rocks and breaking the canoe in two halves. I had to send in the drone as it was impossible to cross the river.
As in any national park when it comes to seeing animals, luck is a determining factor. If luck is on your side, elephants can often be found massaging the rapids and feeding at the same time. Elephants often pass through these waterfalls on a daily basis and also spend entire days enjoying the bathing, especially in the dry season. But we insist it is a matter of luck and we were lucky.
Next to the first line of Kongou Falls is a rustic but comfortable campsite. In its lower part there is a viewpoint to contemplate the waterfalls and the possible fauna.
