Ivindo National Park

Ivindo National Park comprises 3,000 square kilometers and was established in 2002 by President Bongo and is currently managed by WCS and ANPN. As of 2021, it has been listed as a world heritage site.

The park is famous for the spectacular Kongou and Mingouli Falls of the Ivindo River. Kongou Falls is more than 3 km wide and 56 meters high, making it one of the most spectacular places in the country.

The park also includes the Ipassa Makokou Biosphere Reserve and Langoué Baï, which is a cleared forest. Baï is about one kilometer by 300 meters and has a small camp used by the WCS to monitor wildlife in the park.

The mineral-rich soil attracts several animals, especially forest elephants, to feed on the saline soil. Frequent visits by elephants help Baï's survival as they constantly dig up the ground and make it impossible for new trees to grow. Buffaloes also roam the mining area, often accompanied by sitatungas, red river pigs, mangabeys, several species of birds, and even gorillas.

At 300,000 hectares, the park has both Atlantic coastal forest and semi-deciduous forest. It's a wildlife haven and has healthy populations of gorillas and chimpanzees. They also found mandrills, monkeys, leopards, African golden cats, three species of pangolins, buffalo, red river pigs, hippos, bongos, sitatungas, and large herds of forest elephants. The park is also home to tons of bird species (more than 430), and it's not uncommon to see African gray parrots.

Location: East of central Gabon in the provinces of Ogooué-Ivindo and Ogooué-Lolo