Republic of Congo

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Quick Facts

[edit]

Capital

Brazzaville

Population

2,890,000

Government

Republic

Religions

Christianity, Animism

Languages

Lingala, Munukutuba, French

Calling Code

+242

Nationality

Congolese

Local name

Republique du Congo

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Introduction

Flower Safari

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The Republic of Congo is not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo, with whom the Republic shares a border. The Republic (or Congo-Brazzaville, as some call it) is not as large as its namesake, and differs in landscape from the other's arid savannah. Instead, the lush land around the River Congo affords rich forests and steamy swamps. The country offers travellers a wonderful variety of natural attractions.

Like the other Congo, however, Congo-Brazzaville is a risky destination. Travel is relatively safe in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, but the countryside is to be avoided. We recommend staying well abreast of the latest official government warnings.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

The Republic of the Congo is organised into 10 regions and a commune, the capital Brazzaville.

• Bouenza Region
• Brazzaville Region
• Cuvette Region
• Cuvette-Ouest Region
• Kouilou Region
• Lékoumou Region
• Likouala Region
• Niari Region
• Plateaux Region
• Pool Region
• Sangha Region

Cities

• Brazzaville - The capital
• Ouesso
• Pointe-Noire
• Owando
• Djambala
• Oyo
• Gamboma

Sights and Activities

Odzala National Park

Odzala National Park in the central north of the Republic of Congo is a real ecotourism paradise. Travellers are likely to see many lowland gorillas, monkeys and elephants. There are five camps with several facilities and trips from here can be arranged for a maximum of four people. If you want to explore some larger areas of the park, expact to spend several long days with some strenuous hiking. The best way to get here is actually from Gabon, because of security and logistics. For more details, check the Ecofac website, which has several other national parks in the region to be visited.

Pointe Noire Beach

The stunningly beautiful Pointe Noire Beach near the port of Pointe Noire is a fantastic place to spend a couple of days after some more strenuous activities inland. It is a safe beach and togeheter with the vibrant atmosphere of the town's bars and restaurants it makes for a perfect getaway for travellers. Activities at or near the beach include windsurfing, hang-gliding, surf-casting and deep sea fishing and restaurants along the beach offer super-fresh Congalese-style seafood after all these activities as well. From the nearby villages of Diosso and Loango almost 2 million slaves were transported to other countries.

Diosso Gorges

The Diosso Gorges are a very remarkable rockformation in a lush and virgin rainforest area. Erosion caused by the wind and the sea has resulted in some impressive cliffs.

Marche Total

Marche Total is a bustling market in Brazzaville and like many markets it is one of the highlights of this colourful city. You can walk around and buy numerous things including food like fresh peanut butter, caterpillars, guinea pigs, bats and of course manioc or cassava. Other items include palm wine, cloths and aphrodisiacs, to name just a few.

Other sights and activities

Moungali en Oluendze Markets - Brazzaville

Events and Festivals

Weather

The Republic of Congo has a tropical climate with generally hot and humid conditions. Rainfall is high throughout the country but there are some differences. The northern parts of the country has rain during every month, but with two seasons when rain is somewhat more heavy and more probable. These periods are March - April and September - November, though differences with other months are not that big. January is quite dry. Temperatures here are around 30 degrees Celsius during the day and 20 degrees Celsius at night with no considerable montly variation.
In the southern parts on the other hand there is single wet season from November to April. Here, May to September are almost completely dry. Brazzaville for example has temperatures of around 30 degrees celsius during the day, 20 degrees at night and there is a rainy season from November to April while June to September is almost completely dry as well.

Getting there

Plane

Maya-Maya Airport (BZV) near the capital Brazzaville receives several international flights. Airlines flying to Brazzaville include Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle) Air Mauritanie (Nouakchott) Cameroon Airlines (Douala) Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa), Hewa Bora Airways (Douala, Kinshasa), Interair South Africa (Cotonou, Johannesburg), TAAG Angola Airlines (Luanda, Pointe-Noire), Kenya Airways (Nairobi) and Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca, Douala).
Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport in Point Noire has several flights to Paris, Cotonou, Douala and Luanda.

By Car

With your own car you are able to cross from Cameroon, see below by ferry. Getting here from other countries is either impossible or not safe. These include crossings to and from Gabon and Cabinda, the exclave of Angola. There are border crossings but you need a 4wd on most routes and there is not public transport. Also, some crossings are closed or expect to pay bribes.

By Boat

Boats travel across the Congo River between Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazzaville roughly every two hours or so.

There are river boats (Socatraf company) between Bangui in the Central African Republic and Brazzaville, where the Congo River is met. Boats go once every two or three weeks, and only between June and November. It takes about a week. Barges serve the route as well but take about two weeks. They go every week though, are cheaper and less crowded.

From Ouesso you can catch a ferry (large enough for 4WDs) or pirogue across the Ngoko river to Sokamba, Cameroon.

Getting around

Plane

There are flights between Point Noire and Brazzaville with Trans Air Congo about 4 times daily. There are also two flights a day to the towns of Dolisie and Nkayi. Flights to Imfondo leave only once a week. Flights do get canceled or leave very late. Safety records are also a thing to bear in mind in this area.

By Train

Trains were running between Brazzaville and Point Noire, but during the civil war both railways as well as trains have been broken or detiriorated. It is assumed though that trains might be running again in the near future.

By Car

There is just over 1000 kilometers of paved roads in the Republic of Congo and the main roads run north of Brazzaville towards Oyo and west towards Point Noire. In the north and elsewhere, roads are gravel and only navigable by high clearance 4wd vehicles. Even in the wet season, these vehicles might not be sufficient and it becomes impossible to travel by land at all. You can rent cars (either with or without a driver) at the international airport, in Brazzaville or some main hotels. Traffic drives on the right and you need an international driving permit.

By Bus

There are minibuses and shared taxis between major cities and towns and they leave when full. You might get stuck for a few days sometimes when you will find out that there are no minibuses or shared taxis those days. Taxis are available in a few main cities, but to get further afield is expensive with a private taxi.

By Boat

Barges ply the waters from Brazzaville up the Congo and Ubangi rivers and are an important way of getting around. You can even go all the way north to the Central African Republic but this takes at least 10 days and sometimes 3 weeks! It is an adventurous way of getting around, though not comfortable.

Red Tape

All national need a visa and you are required to fill in two application forms, have 2 identical photos and an onward/return ticket. The visa fee is around $70.
Check the nearest Congolese Embassy for more information.

Money

See also Money matters

Republic of Congo uses the CFA Franc as a currency. The CFA Franc is divided into 100 centimes. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs while banknotes come in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs
The exchange range is fixed at aproximately 656 CFA Francs for one Euro.

In Republic of Congo the Central African CFA Franc (XAF) is used which has the same vallue as the West African CFA Franc (XOF), but it's not possible to use both currencies in the same country.

Fourteen countries in Africa use this currency, eight in West Africa and six in Central Africa. The West African CFA Franc can only be used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, while the Central African CFA Franc can only be used in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to The Congo is: 242
To make an international call from The Congo, the code is: 00

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