Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Eighty-Eight Per Cent Forest
One of the most forested countries on earth, and eleven per cent of it in national parks.
Central & West Africa · Afrinkong
Gabon
Elephants on the beach at Loango.
Eighty-eight per cent forest, thirteen national parks covering eleven per cent of the country, and at Loango forest elephant, buffalo and hippo come out onto an Atlantic beach — the only place on earth where that happens.
Where it is
Africa · Central & West Africa · Gabon
The land in brief
- Spans
- 640 km E–W, 690 km N–S
- Latitude
- 2°N to 4°S — the equator crosses it
- Borders
- 3 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- The long dry season, May to September. Whales are offshore from July to September; turtles nest from November.
Also in Central & West Africa
CameroonAfrica in miniatureCentral African RepublicDzanga Bai, and the forest elephantsChadZakouma, and the lakes of OuniangaCongoOdzala, and the western lowland gorillaDR CongoVirunga, Nyiragongo, and the okapi
Compare Gabon with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The long dry season, May to September. Whales are offshore from July to September; turtles nest from November.
01Highlights
What Gabon is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Lowland Gorillas and Mandrills
Habituated gorillas at Loango, and mandrill hordes at Lope that run to hundreds.
Mountains
The Chaillu Massif
1,575 metres at Mont Iboundji, forested to the top, in the middle of the country.
Eight Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic
Empty beaches with forest behind them, humpbacks offshore, and leatherbacks nesting.
Forests & Rainforest
Congo Basin Forest
Lope has one of the longest continuous records of forest-savanna change anywhere.
Culture
Bwiti
An initiatory religion built around iboga, and the ceremonies run all night to harp and drum.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Gabon with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Eighty-Eight Per Cent ForestOne of the most forested countries on earth, and eleven per cent of it in national parks.
- The Chaillu Massif1,575 metres at Mont Iboundji, forested to the top, in the middle of the country.
- Kongou and MingouliKongou on the Ivindo — three kilometres wide in flood, in the middle of rainforest.
- The Ogooue and the IvindoThe Ogooue drains almost the whole country; the Ivindo runs through Ivindo National Park.
- Eight Hundred Kilometres of AtlanticEmpty beaches with forest behind them, humpbacks offshore, and leatherbacks nesting.
- Congo Basin ForestLope has one of the longest continuous records of forest-savanna change anywhere.
Wildlife
- Lowland Gorillas and MandrillsHabituated gorillas at Loango, and mandrill hordes at Lope that run to hundreds.
- Forest and Savanna at LopeWhere the forest meets the last of the Ogooue savanna, with elephant and buffalo in both.
- Thirteen Parks in One DecisionGabon created all thirteen national parks in 2002, on one day, covering eleven per cent of the country.
- Kayak, Trek and BoatLagoon kayaking at Loango, forest trekking at Ivindo, and the train through Lope.
People and culture
- BwitiAn initiatory religion built around iboga, and the ceremonies run all night to harp and drum.
- Fang, Punu, Myene and the BakaFang across the north, Punu in the south, and Baka forest people in the interior.
- The Bwiti NightNgombi harp, mouth bow and dancing until dawn, and it is a religion rather than a show.
- Masks and Ngombi HarpsPunu white-faced masks, Fang reliquary figures, and the carved harps of Bwiti.
- Nyembwe and Smoked FishChicken in palm nut nyembwe sauce, and river fish smoked over a slow fire.
- Elephants From a BoatLoango's lagoon puts you at eye level with elephant and buffalo, safely, from the water.
- Grilled Fish on the SandThe Libreville beach restaurants at the weekend, and the fish landed that morning.
Places
- Libreville and Port-GentilAn Atlantic capital, and an oil town on an island at the Ogooue delta.
- Colonial and ContemporaryFrench colonial along the coast, and Libreville's newer buildings behind it.
- Lope's Rock ArtEngravings on the Ogooue at Lope, and Iron Age sites going back two and a half thousand years.
- Lope-Okanda, and IvindoTwo World Heritage sites: the forest-savanna mosaic, and the falls on the Ivindo.
Ways to travel
- Whales, Turtles and SurfHumpbacks from July, leatherbacks from November, and a beach nobody else is on.
- A Handful, and GoodLoango and Lope have real lodges, and the rest of the parks are camping.
- Forest Meeting OceanLoango at low sun, when the elephants come out and the beach is empty in both directions.
- The Trans-GabonaisThe railway from Libreville to Franceville, straight through Lope, overnight.
03Why go
The case for Gabon.
Why Visit This Country
Why Gabon
The only place in the world where forest elephants walk out onto an ocean beach.
Hidden Gems
The Trans-Gabonais
The railway from Libreville to Franceville, straight through Lope, overnight.
Eco Tourism
Thirteen Parks in One Decision
Gabon created all thirteen national parks in 2002, on one day, covering eleven per cent of the country.
Heritage
Lope-Okanda, and Ivindo
Two World Heritage sites: the forest-savanna mosaic, and the falls on the Ivindo.
04Go deeper
All of Gabon, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Gabon starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.