National Park · UNESCO World Heritage Site · Republic of Congo · 1,354,600 hectares
Odzala-Kokoua National Park
The gorilla forests of the Congo Basin.
Odzala-Kokoua National Park: the numbers, sourced
As of July 2026.
- 1935 — one of Africa's oldest national parks; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023. African Parks; UNESCO, 1935 / 2023.
- ~9,600 forest elephants — censused in the park. African Parks-commissioned census, 2012.
- 77 eco-guards — patrolling 1,354,600 hectares on foot and by boat. African Parks, current.
- 25+ tonnes seized, 30,275 snares, 47 arrests — one year of enforcement work. African Parks, 2020.
- ~US$100 per guest night — paid by the camps to the park for conservation. Odzala Discovery Camps, current.
What was lost at Odzala-Kokoua National Park?
The western lowland gorillas of the Congo Basin were hit twice over: Ebola outbreaks swept through the region's gorilla populations in the 2000s, and bushmeat and ivory poaching pressed in from every road. Odzala's forests — protected on paper since 1935 — needed defenders on the ground.
What brought it back?
In 2010 the Republic of Congo signed a 25-year management agreement with African Parks, expanded in 2020 to fold in the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary. A census commissioned in 2012 counted around 9,600 forest elephants — one of the most important populations left anywhere. In 2023 the park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What is it like now?
Seventy-seven eco-guards patrol the park on foot and by boat. In 2020 alone they seized more than 25 tonnes of illegal wildlife products, removed over 30,000 snares and made 47 arrests (African Parks). The forest they defend is 1.35 million hectares of the world's second-largest rainforest, with habituated gorilla groups in the marantaceae thickets around Ngaga.
Who does the work?
Local trackers and permanent researchers habituate and monitor the gorilla groups; the eco-guard corps is drawn from the surrounding communities. Roughly US$100 of every guest night at the Odzala camps goes directly to African Parks for the park's protection (Odzala Discovery Camps).
How do you visit Odzala-Kokoua National Park?
Three camps — Ngaga for the gorillas, Lango and Mboko on the bais and rivers — run as one journey with Odzala Discovery Camps. This is the least-visited great rainforest on Earth; going is the rarest kind of support it gets.
Or have the whole journey designed for you — Cape to Nile designs custom African safaris.
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