Super User 22 September 2023

Best Travel Guide To Garamba National Park in DR Congo

Garamba National Park is one of the finest Parks in the African continent and one of the oldest. The Park's immense savannahs, grasslands, and woodlands, interspersed with gallery forests along the riverbanks and the swampy depressions, are home to four large mammals: the elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, and above all the white rhinoceros. Though much larger than the black rhino, it is harmless; only a few individuals remain.

It’s rare to see so many different classifications of large mammals sharing the same space and visiting the Park is an absolute must.

Garamba National Park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and an amazing sanctuary for several endangered species.

Garamba National Park History:

One of Africa's oldest National Parks was established in 1980, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. But over the decades, Garamba endured periods of armed conflict, rampant ivory poaching, and civil wars, which led to steep declines in wildlife populations and threatened its UNESCO listing.

Garamba National Park Location and Size:

Garamba National Park is located in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo covering over 2,000 square miles of area.

About Garamba National Park:

Covering vast grass savannas and woodlands interspersed with gallery forests and marshland depressions, Garamba National Park is located in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the transition zone between the dense tropical forests of the Congo Basin and the Guinea-Sudano savannas.

It contains an endemic sub-species of Congolese giraffe and a mixed population of elephants, combining forest elephants, bush elephants, and individuals demonstrating morphological characteristics common to the two elephant sub-species.

It is also characterized by an exceptionally high level of biomass of great herbivores as a result of the vegetation productivity of the environment. Extending over 490,000 ha and surrounded by 752,700 ha of three hunting grounds that contribute to effective protection of the property against threats from the adjacent area, this property is an outstanding sanctuary with its unusual mix of large spectacular mammals.

Garamba's elephants are considered a hybrid of the African savanna and African forest subspecies however many have been poached thus reducing their numbers as the area is ravaged by different conflicts. The park also once had the last wild surviving population of the northern white rhinoceros; poachers killed many, thus driving UNESCO to take action.

Garamba National Park and its neighboring hunting grounds offer a vast area scattered with a dense network of small permanent springs that support exceptionally high plant productivity and herbivore biomass. This biomass translates for example in the presence of large herds of elephants at certain periods of the year, sometimes herds of more than 550 individuals, an exceptional natural phenomenon.

Garamba National Park Wildlife:

The Park is covered with large areas of savannahs, grasslands, and woodlands, inter-supported with dense tropical forests along the riverbanks and the swamps, which are home to large mammals such as elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, monkeys, baboons, duikers, waterbucks, and the white rhinoceros.

In addition, there are also purely savannicole species including the lion, the spotted hyena, and numerous species of antelope. Furthermore, the species typical of the forest include the bongo, the forest hog, the chimpanzee, and five species of small diurnal primates.

The Park is also one of the rare places in Africa where one can observe both the African forest elephant and the African bush elephant, as well as hybrid elephants presenting morphological characteristics common to both sub-species. A very large population of African buffalo also displays intermediary forms between the forest buffalo and the savannah buffalo.

Garamba National Park Birding:

The Park has several bird species over 560 such as the Knob billed duck, Tailed cormorant, White-backed pelican, Squacco heron, Fishing eagle, Water thick-knee, Pied kingfisher, Wattle plovers, Black crake, Secretary bird amongst others, all of which are beautiful to watch.

The Garamba Park is best for game drives viewing different animals such as elephant herds, birding where different bird species can be watched, guided nature walks through the vast Congolese forests enjoying beautiful flora and fauna, boat cruise along river Garamba and river Dungu viewing aquatic wildlife such as the hippos and birds, and fishing along the rivers.

Best time to visit Garamba National Park:

Garamba National Park can be visited year-round but it is during the dry season that travelers are most encouraged to visit for the roads are more passable and the vegetation is not so thick that it could hinder proper viewing of wildlife. The dry season usually runs through January to June.

Arrange with ULTIMATE WILD SAFARIS for this beautiful expedition in Garamba National Park in the DR Congo.

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