Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesEighty-Eight Per Cent Forest
One of the most forested countries on earth, and eleven per cent of it in national parks.
GABON · Tourism
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.
Central & West AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
Elephants on the beach at LoangoKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
MountainsThe Chaillu Massif
1,575 metres at Mont Iboundji, forested to the top, in the middle of the country.
Photo Yana Oleksiuk / Pexels
Kongou and Mingouli
Kongou on the Ivindo — three kilometres wide in flood, in the middle of rainforest.
Photo Kevyn Costa / Pexels
Lakes & RiversThe Ogooue and the Ivindo
The Ogooue drains almost the whole country; the Ivindo runs through Ivindo National Park.
Eight Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic
Empty beaches with forest behind them, humpbacks offshore, and leatherbacks nesting.
Forests & RainforestCongo Basin Forest
Lope has one of the longest continuous records of forest-savanna change anywhere.
Photo Shalom Osezua / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Lowland Gorillas and Mandrills
Habituated gorillas at Loango, and mandrill hordes at Lope that run to hundreds.
SafariForest and Savanna at Lope
Where the forest meets the last of the Ogooue savanna, with elephant and buffalo in both.
Thirteen Parks in One Decision
Gabon created all thirteen national parks in 2002, on one day, covering eleven per cent of the country.
Photo Jeff Stapleton / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Bwiti
An initiatory religion built around iboga, and the ceremonies run all night to harp and drum.
Fang, Punu, Myene and the Baka
Fang across the north, Punu in the south, and Baka forest people in the interior.
Photo Asiama Junior / Pexels
Nyembwe and Smoked Fish
Chicken in palm nut nyembwe sauce, and river fish smoked over a slow fire.
The Bwiti Night
Ngombi harp, mouth bow and dancing until dawn, and it is a religion rather than a show.
Photo Pipe Carbonell / Pexels
Traditional Arts & CraftsMasks and Ngombi Harps
Punu white-faced masks, Fang reliquary figures, and the carved harps of Bwiti.
Photo Musa Ajit / Pexels
Lope's Rock Art
Engravings on the Ogooue at Lope, and Iron Age sites going back two and a half thousand years.
Lope-Okanda, and Ivindo
Two World Heritage sites: the forest-savanna mosaic, and the falls on the Ivindo.
Photo Hashtag Melvin / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
Libreville and Port-Gentil
An Atlantic capital, and an oil town on an island at the Ogooue delta.
Colonial and Contemporary
French colonial along the coast, and Libreville's newer buildings behind it.
Photo Alexander Mass / Pexels
Local LifeGrilled Fish on the Sand
The Libreville beach restaurants at the weekend, and the fish landed that morning.
Photo Manass Rex / Pexels
Elephants From a Boat
Loango's lagoon puts you at eye level with elephant and buffalo, safely, from the water.
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Whales, Turtles and Surf
Humpbacks from July, leatherbacks from November, and a beach nobody else is on.
Photo Patricia Hoyos / Pexels
Outdoor ExperiencesKayak, Trek and Boat
Lagoon kayaking at Loango, forest trekking at Ivindo, and the train through Lope.
Photo The Humantra / Pexels
A Handful, and Good
Loango and Lope have real lodges, and the rest of the parks are camping.
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsForest Meeting Ocean
Loango at low sun, when the elephants come out and the beach is empty in both directions.
Hidden GemsThe Trans-Gabonais
The railway from Libreville to Franceville, straight through Lope, overnight.
Photo Wesley Novais / Pexels
Why Visit This Country
Why Gabon
The only place in the world where forest elephants walk out onto an ocean beach.
Why Gabon
The only place in the world where forest elephants walk out onto an ocean beach.
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