Itinerary
Abroad – Yaounde – Ngaoundere – Poli – Wangaï – Bouba-Djidda – Bertoua – Yokadouma – Libongo – Bayanga – Libongo – Batouri – Bertoua – Yaounde – Abroad
Duration: 16 days and 15 nights
Price: 3.200.000FCFA (4856Euros)/pax for a group of 4 pax
Tour description
Three attractions are of concern in this tour. Firstly are the Koma peoples at the villages along the slopes of the Atlantika Mountains. Secondly is the Bouba Djidda National Park of North Cameroon and lastly is the Dzanga Sangha Special Reserve of Central African Republic.
Unknown until a few years ago, the Koma people are believed to have inhabited the Atlantika Mountains Regions at the northern flank with the Adamawa State of Nigeria during the period of the great Islamic invasions of Bornou in Cameroon. In order to escape the cavalry (troops) of the Islamist fighters, the Koma people took refuge in these mountains. According to village elders, it is believed that whoever ascended the mountains to attack them suffered a horrible death by suffocation. For almost half a century, the Koma people have lived in complete isolation from the rest of the world. They still dress very primitively like the early men. Women wear only leaves of trees while men dress in animal skins and are equipped with a bow and arrows. They live by hunting, gathering, farming and of recent by gifts from tourists.
The Bouba-Ddjida National Park is located in the North Region of Cameroon at the south west border with Chad. It is one of the most important national parks in Cameroon in terms of the diversity of its fauna species. It has a surface area of 220,000 hectares. It is the largest national park in the country, but it is also the most isolated. It is situated halfway between Ngaoundere and Garoua. It is accessible by road and bush tracks. It is crossed by numerous seasonal streams and by a permanent river known as The Senaroua Mayo River.
Animal species found in the park include lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, 11 species of antelope including the Derby’s eland (the largest species of antelope in Africa), hippotragues, damalisques, buffaloes, cobs, red hartebeests, panthers, hyenas, bush pigs and warthogs. There are more than 300 species of birds. The rhinos were present but seemed to have be extinct in the park and Cameroon in general. Major efforts are currently underway to develop the park and the services offered.
The Dzanga-Sangha Special Forest Reserve on the other hand is a protected reserve located south western of the Central African Republic. It was established in 1990 and covers a surface area of 6865.54 km2. It is one of the several areas within the Dzanga-Sangha Complex Protected Areas (DSCPA), each with its own protective status. They include the Lobeke National Park in Cameroon and Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. They constitute the Sangha Tri-national Landscape. A conference of the Ministers of Forests of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) met and resolved to establish within the Congo basin, the Sangha River Tri-national Protected Area (STN) encompassing these three parks. The Dzanga-Sangha Special Forest Reserve is operated by the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). It is very rich in wildlife such as the forest elephants, forest buffalos, giant forest hogs (large boars), monkeys, gorillas, sitatungas and bongos (forest antelopes).
Daily Program
Day 1: Abroad – Nsimalen International Airport – Yaounde
Arrival and welcome of guests at the airport by our agent and transfer to hotel.
Day 2: Yaounde – Ngaoundere
Breakfast and departure for Ngaoundere. This is an 11 or more hours of drive on tarmac and bump roads. Several stop overs on the way for better landscape observations, eating of roasted barbecues (soya) and for stretching of the legs. Reach Ngaoundere in the night, dinner and overnight in a hotel.
Day 3: Ngaoundere – Poli
Breakfast and take off for Poli. Lunch on the way. Arrive at Poli, installation at the Peuhl’s village camp, dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Poli – Wangaï (trekking in the Koma villages)
Breakfast, activities with the Peuhls then take off by mid-day to Wangaï. Arrival at Wangai Village at the foot of the Atlantika Mountains, meet with the porters and trackers and arrangements for hiking up the koma villages the following day. Dinner and overnight in a small guest house or in tents under the moon.
Days 5 and 6: Trekking and Activities with the Koma peoples
These days are dedicated to visiting the villages of Koma peoples by trekking. Dinner and overnight in tents in any of the nearby villages up the mountain.
Day 7: Alantika Mounatins – Wangai – Poli – Tchollire
Wake up in the morning, breakfast and departure for Tchollire through Poli, Gouna and Guidjiba. Lunch at Poli, then continuation for Tchollire. Arrive at Tchollire, dinner and overnight in small hotel.
Day 8: Tchollire – Bouba-Djidda National Park
Breakfast, departure for the Bouba-Djidda National Park. Arrival, lunch and evening visit of the park. Return to the park’s ecolodge, dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Bouba Djidda Park National – Ngaoundere
Breakfast and morning visit of the park for animal safari. Return by 10 am and departure for Ngaoundere. En route, stops are planned for visits and lunch. Arrival at Ngaoundere, installation at the hotel, dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Ngaoundere – Bertoua
Breakfast and departure from Ngaoundere for Bertoua. Lunch will be taken on the way. Arrive Bertoua late in the evening, dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 11: Bertoua – Batouri – Yokadouma – Libongo
Whole day travel on tarmac and earth road especially from Batouri to Yokadouma right up to Libongo. Lunch on the way. Arrival at Libongo by 8:00 pm, reserve a speedboat for Bayanga in CAR for the following morning and overnight in a small hotel at the border of the River Sangha.
Day 12: Libongo – Bayanga – Dzanga Bai of Dzanga Sangha National Park
Early morning departure from Libongo to Bayanga in CAR via a speedboat through the Sangha River. Arrival at Bayanga and registration at the Tourist Information Centre. Departure for elephant safari at the Dzanga Bai. Return to Bayanga in the evening, dinner and overnight at an ecolodge at the borders of the Sangha River.
Days 13: Bayanga – Bai Hokou of Dzangha Sangha National Park
Day consecrated for Gorilla tracking and Saline Safari Tours at the Bai Hokou of the Dzangha Sangha National Park.
Day 14: Bayanga – Libongo – Batouri
Early morning departure from Bayanga for Libongo and then to Batouri via the Sangha River by speedboat and a 4×4 pickup vehicle. Lunch on the way in the local restaurants. Arrival at Batouri, check in in hotel, dinner and overnight.
Day 15: Batouri – Bertoua– Yaounde
Breakfast and take off for Yaounde by 8:00am. Drive for one and a half hours and reach Bertoua. Lunch and continuation to Yaounde. Arrive Yaounde in the late evenings, dinner in a local bear parlour to get some vibes of city life in Cameroon and overnight.
Day 16: Yaounde – Nsimalen International Airport – Abroad
City tour of Yaounde with visits to the Artisanal Centre at the CBD and the Craft Market at Tsingha to purchase some arts objects for souvenirs. Lunch in an African restaurant and trip evaluation. Transfer to the Nsimalen International Airport for flight home and END OF TOUR.
NB: Quotes provided upon request.