Ntokou pikounda national park was mainly established to protect the western low land gorillas, the park covers an area of 4,572 kilometers squared endowed with over 950 chimpanzees, 850 elephants and 15,000 gorillas. Nkotou pikounda national park, the park was created on the 28th of December 2012.
Ntokou pikounda national park has also been known as “Green abyss” from J MichaelFay’s Mega Transect, the forest is mainly dominated by marantaceae a fan of herbaceous tropical plants which j is a stronghold for larger mammals, the park was named after two villages in its boarder.
Nkotou pikounda national park is also home to Congo’s largest hippo population, the creation of the park has alerted hunters looking for bush meat and ivory as infrastructure has been developed but the government is trying it’s best to secure the park and it’s animals.
Nkotou pikounda national park joins other protected areas in the region including Odzala national park and Nouabale Ndoki national park
Things to do at Ntokou pikounda national park
Gorrilla trekking
Nkotou pikounda national park boasts with over 15,000 gorillas this is the main tourists activity that takes place at this park tourists can go on a gorilla trekking safari experience and never get disappointed as it’s a must to see from the time you start your journey to the end.
Chimpanzees trekking
A part from gorilla trekking there are also chimpanzee trekking safaris as the park is gifted with over 900 chimpanzees, tourists can encounter a true feeling of the wilderness and get close to this human related creatures whose DNA is said to match up to 80% with human beings. There are also other primates such as the red colobus monkey.
Wildlife viewing
A part from gorilla and chimpanzees trekking Nkotou national park has got a lot of the wilderness to offer tourists can go for game drive and see various animals such as; forest elephants, golden cat, forest hogs, bush bucks and bush pigs to mention a few. The park is also home to Congo’s largest hippo population.
Bird watching
Nkotou pikounda national park is endowed with various species of birds some of the birds here are migratory while others are residential.
Boat cruising
Tourists can go on a boat cruise at view aquatic animals like the hippopotami, crocodiles and many water birds with views of the parks beautiful sceneries.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit the park is in the dry season when the grass is short and animals can easily be seen without thick vegetation. Visitors are advised to use a four wheel drive vehiclewhen travelling to the park.
Where to stay
While at the Nkotou pikounda national park, tourists can either camp or get accommodation at the near by towns, the park is still remote and the infrastructure is not well developed.
How to get there
The park can be accessed by road or air transport.
