Trip to Congo DRC in August 2022
A trip to Congo - Zaire in which we will discover many of the highlights the country has to offer that very few have had the privilege of exploring.
We will get to know some of the best of what remains of the ancestral world of Congo rituals, but also the current and urban currents that exist in the megacity Kinshasa.
After two months of hard prospective travel in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we have been able to see that there are still many ethnic groups that continue to preserve their culture and tradition, we have visited the immense colonial heritage that remains forgotten and abandoned, and we have discovered the incredible cultural hotbed that is Kinshasa, a city from which you will leave fascinated.
We will also travel to the north of the country to navigate the mythical Congo River on one of its most spectacular stretches and soak up its unique atmosphere. It is this part of the river that is home to one of the most fascinating places in the DRC, the town of Yangambi. We will explore its old laboratories, colonial houses and hotels and immerse ourselves in an atmosphere of fascinating decadence.
And we can say it very clearly, DR Congo is a fascinating and unique country. No other country is comparable.
A paradise for any traveller seeking authenticity, adventure and an Africa that offers the most extreme of the continent. But it's not for everyone.
Summary of the trip to Congo
After leaving the megacity Kinshasa behind, we will immerse ourselves in the ancestral culture, still alive in remote areas of the country. Led by the best possible Congolese team, experts in traditional DRC culture, we will enter a world of masks, priests, diviners and initiation rituals.
We will also travel on an authentic expedition to the remote and very inaccessible Kuba Kingdom. A true paradise for lovers of photography and African culture. Getting there will be quite a challenge. We will spend several days getting to know and exploring this fascinating ancient kingdom.
Cults flourish like mushrooms all over the country and on our trip to Congo we could not ignore this reality. We will travel to a remote place to see some of the most bizarre sects in the country, which mix African rituals with Christian liturgy. A shocking visit.
Kisangani, with its old colonial buildings, its relaxed atmosphere and its location downstream of the Boyoma rapids, marks the real beginning of the navigable part of the Congo River.
Sailing down the Congo River on its wild side from Kisangani, we arrive at Yangambi. Built by the Belgians in 1933, Yangambi housed until 1962 the most important research centre on the African continent for the study of tropical agriculture and forestry.
Welcome to the DRC, only for those who are very passionate about Africa, you have been advised.
Kinshasa, one of the best experiences of a trip to Congo
Vibrant Kinshasa is well worth a visit, unlike other African capitals.
We will explore the urban and contemporary culture, visit museums, universities, galleries and experience the fascinating nightlife with its restaurants and live music.
Kuba Kingdom, exploring the Kasai Region
We will also come to see what remains of the remnants of the remote and ancient Kuba kingdom, once one of the most powerful in Africa, famous for its social and military organisation, architecture and textiles. The masks are possibly the most spectacular in Africa.
The famous canvases and sculptures of the Kuba Kingdom
If the Kingdom of Kuba is known for anything outside the borders of the DRC, it is for its rich artistic production, which can be admired even today. The Kuba people were and are admired for their textiles, whose main raw material is raffia, a fibre produced from the huge leaves of a type of palm tree native to Africa and South America. The leaf facilitates the transformation of its fibres into large fabrics.
Pende and other traditional groups
The Pende are undoubtedly one of the ethnic groups that have put up the most resistance to the steamroller of evangelisation.
In many remote parts of the Pende territory, initiation rites and unique masquerades continue to be celebrated to the rhythm of drums and sacred balafons.
Alongside the Pende territory, other smaller groups such as the Suku or the Yaka are also resisting cultural disappearance.
Kisangani, Yangambi and the Congo River
Nestled between the mighty Congo River and the centuries-old trees of the world's second largest rainforest, historic Yangambi is a journey back in time amidst the curious remnants of colonial brick and timber buildings that stand the test of time.
In these old Belgian houses and mansions live civil servants who barely receive their salaries, and the widows of civil servants who live with hardly any resources, and next to the colonial houses you can see old streets with decrepit street lamps that are still standing in a country where there is virtually no electricity nowadays.
Among the abandoned buildings, one is particularly striking. Overlooking a spectacular viewpoint of the Congo River and the surrounding jungles stands a spectacular former guesthouse that housed every possible luxury that could be offered in those days.
Different swimming pools, restaurants, conference rooms... Our imagination flies decades back to such abandoned places and we imagine how life would have been in this remote part of the Congo. Belgian and European fortune seekers, traders, politicians, scientists, monarchs, evangelists, travellers and adventurers would wander through these formerly illuminated streets and rest in these marvellous hotel facilities.
In addition to colonial architecture, old factories and abandoned sites that are very interesting to explore, a visit to Yangambi is a profound journey into the treasures of knowledge and biodiversity, as here, in this remote part of Congo, you will find from the largest herbarium in Central Africa, to the immense research library, a xylotheque or a collection of tropical woods.
Today, the Yangambi research centre is an "open-air laboratory" for a new generation of Congolese researchers seeking a sustainable future for the country's vast forests.
