Congo safari with gorilla trekking

Planet

Odzala is one of Africa's last pristine wilderness areas. When staying within the park and exploring the surrounding areas, our guides and local park guides will brief travelers on the appropriate behaviour, both cultural and environmental, and we make a point of ensuring that we leave no permanent traces of our stay behind, taking all rubbish with us to protect this valuable area.

Tracking the gorillas is a big part of this tour, and guidelines are set out by IUCN for ape viewing,. There are rules and guidelines that travelers must adhere to whilst tracking gorillas. Our guides will brief all clients on the rules and guidelines as set by the IUCN, ensuring the wellbeing of the gorillas as well as minimising any negative impacts on the environment.

Our groups average only six clients, and many tours operate on a private basis with just two travelers. For visiting Odzala, it is maximum of 4 people per tracking group. This has much less impact when traveling through the wilderness areas, reducing our environmental and social affects, and also limits the disruption to the animals. Finally to emphasis our commitment to Responsible Tourism all clients will receive a copy of our Travelers Code of Conduct with their travel documents.

People

Our philosophy is to only use small and locally owned suppliers, meaning that the income remains within the country and creates a real economic contribution. We also feel that the passion inherent within such suppliers means that your experience will be enhanced. We also try to engage with our suppliers on an equal basis – getting the lowest possible price usually isn’t the best outcome for local communities and is ultimately unsustainable. We aim to always treat our suppliers fairly and with respect; they are after all part of the key to our success and to us working together is much more than just a business arrangement, but an ongoing relationship that we aim to ensure truly benefits everyone involved.

We aim to always treat our suppliers fairly and with respect; they are after all part of the key to our success and to us working together is much more than just a business arrangement, but an on going relationship that we aim to ensure truly benefits everyone involved. Our team in Odzala take great pride in showing people their country and the pristine wilderness of the national park whilst contributing to the conservation of the environment and animals.

We believe that tourism is a double edged sword that needs to be wielded very carefully. Our philosophy is to have a limited amount of departures – usually between one and three a year - for each of our itineraries. By limiting our presence in areas where local culture can be quite fragile, we hope to avoid as much as possible the phenomenon whereby an area changes in character due to repeated and prolonged exposure to tourism. We want to visit an area as friends, not intruders and to ensure that what we see will also be there for others to enjoy for many years to come.