5-Day Budget Eco-Camping at Lopé National Park

While Gabon is such an amazing country with a huge offer of unique landscapes, an abundance of wildlife and massive potential for tourism and fishing, it is still a very wild place with little infrastructure and few visitors. This means that tourism is little developed with mosty basic accommodation at high prices, little organisations or one could go to one of the few luxury lodges with really high prices (and there are only a handful at best!)

We offer a budget tour using the jungle train which runs from Libreville all the way to Lopé National Park! Once we arrive we’ll be using simple local accommodation for our first night. During the next two days we’ll explore the park on foot, camping in the forest, while cooking ourselves and going deep into the park. As the forest is really dense, it’s not easy to see animals. As we’ll be with trained guides and eco-guards, we’ll have several eyes on us, which will help us to look around. Be sure to bring a good torch with you, so we can look for more elusive night animals. After our jungle trek, we’ll have a drive in a safari vehicle to cover some more ground in order to see more of the park and in the end we’ll have a hike up on Mount Brazza. Hiking to the mountain takes around half a day and will help you see how enormous the forest really is. It also offers breathtaking views on the valley and is a great photo opportunity. After one last night at the local hotel we’ll take the train back. Know that the train only runs a few times a week. In case there is no train on that day, we either stay another night or will arrange a car for an additional fee.

Lopé National Park is Gabon’s oldest national park totalling 485.000 ha, bordered by the Ogooué River and around 400 km from Libreville. The majority of the park consists of monsoon forest, but it also has some grass savanna. During the end of the Ice Age the forest started dominating the open savannah, but there are some areas of savannah which have survived as the average annual rainfall is not enough for the forest to grow there as the area is one of the driest in the country. There have also been remnants from the Stone Age and Iron Age found, meaning that there have been people in the region for 400.000 years. These inhabitants most likely tried to control their environment by burning the savannah to clear the area and therefore helped pushing back the forest. In 2007 Lopé NP was added to the world heritage list by UNESCO. There is a small research station and an abandoned forest camp inside.

This beautiful park is home to more than 400 bird species, which is more than the half of species recorded in all of Gabon. Besides birds, there are plenty of mammals living in the forest and it’s known for its primates. Lopé is particularly known for its large mandrill groups. It’s not uncommon to see groups up to a few hundred mandrills. The largest gathering ever recorded of any primate species in the world, was a mandrill group of 1.350 individuals! If you want to see mandrills, it is best to come during the dry season, which is from July until mid September. Although sightings are never guaranteed, it’s common to see mandrills while visiting the park. We also offer mandrill excursions with tracked mandrills with the help from the local research team, but as this a specialised tour by itself, it’s best to contact us. Besides mandrills, we also find healthy populations of lowland gorillas as well as chimpanzees. It’s also possible to spot several monkeys such white-nosed monkeys and black colobus. 

Note that the tour we offer is not affiliated to any of the hotels near the park and we use our own people for this expedition. You need to be fit enough to walk in the forest and to go up the mountain. Please, bring adequate clothing, mosquito repellent, extra water and energy bars/quick sugars and good shoes. It’s also best to bring your own sleeping mat and sheets. We can provide the tent, but you’re free to bring your own. It’s best to contact us before booking this trip so we can discuss the details with you.

Itinerary:
Day 1: Jungle train leaving from Libreville in the late afternoon. Arrival at night, local hotel. Meals not included. Accommodation included.
Day 2: Meeting up with the team and the first day of your jungle trek. We’ll be on the lookout for mandrills, monkeys, chimpanzees, duikers, red river hogs, pangolins, elephants, buffaloes and gorillas. Camping at the forest, simple meals prepared at campsite.
Day 3: More forest exploration on foot. Camping in the forest and simple meals prepared at the campsite.
Day 4: Safari by 4 x 4 and hike to Mount Brazza summit. Night at a local hotel. Dinner not included.
Day 5: Back to Libreville by train and end of tour. 

Includes

• Roundtrip first class train ticket to Lopé National Park and back
• Hotel accommodation on arrival and departure night
• Camping and meals in Lopé National Park
• Services of a professional local guide and eco-rangers
• Half-day safari in a 4x4 vehicle
• Mount Brazza hiking

Excludes

• Meals and beverages not mentioned
  
• Visa and visa application
• Travel insurance and immunizations
• Tips and gratuities
• Personal expenses

Please Note

• Drinks other than water will be provided, however, it is still recommended for you to bring at least 5 liters of water as a backup.
• Please, allow yourself 1 or 2 buffer days in Libreville in case of any problems we might encounter such as canceled ferries. 
  

• Bring a towel, shampoo, soap, clothing, towels, adequate clothing, swimming clothes, light rain jacket, sun cream, mosquito repellent, torch, and medication. Be sure that you have good insurance as we’re not responsible for any accidents.