DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Highlights
The Wagenia fishermen and the Congo River rapids
The Tata Gonda brotherhood and Kimbanguism
The sapeurs of Kinshasa
The Zongo waterfalls
Where we sleep
Basic hotels
How we move
Internal flights and private minibuses with local drivers
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Tough trip, requiring a high capacity for adaptation, flexibility, and patience. Infrastructure is limited, domestic flight schedules may vary, and complex logistics are an integral part of the experience
For more information about our trips, please consult the FAQ section.
DAY 1: departure from Italy with an overnight intercontinental flight involving a layover
DAY 2: arrival in Kinshasa, completion of customs formalities. Meeting with the local representative and transfer to the hotel. First contact with the Congolese capital, one of Africa’s most intense and vibrant metropolises. Exploratory walk along the banks of the Congo River, observing the daily life unfolding on its shores: pirogues, river traffic, spontaneous markets, and music echoing from every corner of the city. Dinner and overnight stay in Kinshasa.
Morning: transfer to the airport and domestic flight to Kisangani (schedules subject to change). Arrival in Kisangani marks the entry into a deeper Congo, less urban and more closely tied to the river.
Afternoon: transfer to the famous rapids of the Congo River, where the Wagenia fishermen operate. Here, you will witness one of the most surprising fishing techniques in the world: large wooden structures fixed to the rocks to intercept fish carried by the current. Meeting with members of the community and explanation of the traditional fishing system, passed down through generations.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Kisangani
Morning and afternoon: very early departure for Opala (about 250 km, transfer via road/track which can take the entire day). Arrival in the area inhabited by the Mangbetu people. Meeting with elders and representatives of the community. In-depth look at their artistic culture: sculptures, musical instruments, decorated weapons. Introduction to the ancient practice of cranial elongation, now disappeared, which made this people famous among 19th-century European anthropologists.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in the vicinity of Opala
Morning and afternoon: breakfast in the Mangbetu community and a final moment of discussion with the village elders. The return to Kisangani once again crosses the equatorial forest, allowing for the observation of rural life along the road. Arrival in Kisangani and in-depth visit of the city. Walk through the historical center, observing the colonial buildings from the Belgian era, many of which are now abandoned. Stop at the central market, where languages, ethnicities, and trades intertwine.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Kisangani.
Morning and afternoon: transfer to the airport and return flight to Kinshasa. Entry into the Matonge district, the cultural and musical heart of the city. Here we meet the SAPE movement, the Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes. Dialogue with some sapeurs who share their worldview: elegance as a discipline, as a moral code, as a symbolic response to poverty and marginalization. European tailored suits, bright colors, theatrical gestures: it is not folklore, but an assertion of identity.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Kinshasa
Morning: departure at dawn towards Mbanza Nzambi (approximately a 3-hour transfer), crossing an increasingly rural landscape made of scattered villages, crops, and red laterite tracks. Arrival at the Tata Gonda community.
Afternoon: meeting with the members of the congregation. Introduction to Kimbanguism and the figure of Simon Kimbangu, prophet and symbol of spiritual resistance to colonial rule. The community lives self-sufficiently, with a strong religious identity and a hierarchical internal structure. Subsequent transfer towards Mbanza-Ngungu (formerly Thysville), a city that still preserves significant traces of the colonial era.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in the vicinity of Mbanza-Ngungu
Morning: visit of the city: railway station with vintage machinery, colonial administrative buildings, and residential neighborhoods built for Belgian officials. Subsequently, a meeting with a Bakongo community. In-depth look at the cult of the “Leopard men,” a ritual figure linked to ancestral justice and symbolism of power.
Afternoon: transfer to the Zongo Falls, in a completely different natural context: forest, watercourses, and spectacular drops of the Inkisi River.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Zongo.
Morning: breakfast immersed in the natural setting of the Zongo Falls. Before departure, a brief exploration of the surrounding area to understand the strategic and symbolic importance of the Inkisi River, a tributary of the Congo, and its economic function for local communities. Start of the journey back to Kinshasa
Afternoon: arrival in Kinshasa and check-in at the hotel. Time dedicated to a broader exploration of the city: busy boulevards, spontaneous markets, street vendors, and music filtering through the venues. Stop along the Congo riverside, from where Brazzaville can be seen on the opposite bank: two capitals, two States, separated only by a stretch of water. A border that is both visible and symbolic.
Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Kinshasa.
Morning: visit to the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary, the only center in the world exclusively dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned bonobos, an endemic species of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and among the primates genetically closest to humans. Introduction to the center’s work: rescue from illegal trafficking, behavioral rehabilitation and, when possible, reintroduction into protected reserves. The encounter with the bonobos takes place in compliance with the sanctuary’s rules, with an in-depth explanation of their social behavior, known for non-violent conflict management and high internal cooperation.
Afternoon and evening: return to the city and cultural exploration of the Kuba ethnic group, among the most important in the Congo Basin. Observation of ritual objects, masks and traditional textiles that tell of a structured, symbolic and stratified worldview. In the late afternoon, transfer to the airport for the international flight.
Arrival in Italy and until the next adventure!
