Are you aware interesting facts about the Congo River? Most often, knowledge about this river does not go beyond the school curriculum in geography. The Congo is one of the largest rivers on the planet, but far fewer people know about it than about the Nile, for example. It's time to enrich the knowledge about the Congo.
- Congo is the deepest river in the world. The river leads the ranking of the deepest rivers of the Earth. The total length of the river, which is equal to 4375 kilometers, is also striking.
- The river basin is the second largest in the world. The river basin is located in the heart of Africa. It includes: the Congo depression and the surrounding plateaus. The source of the river begins at the border with Zambia. It has been established that the source of the Congo is still Lualaba, although it was previously believed that it was the source of the Nile.
- The most terrible fish lives in the river - Goliath. Many predatory fish are found in the Congo. Goliath is a terrible fish that has an ugly appearance and has razor-sharp teeth. Its size is astounding. Its weight can reach 80 kg.
- The mouth of the Congo was discovered by the Portuguese. This happened at the end of the 15th century. Diego Kahn, an experienced trader and navigator, made this discovery by accident. The Portuguese went to Africa to establish trade relations with the Kingdom of the Congo, while traveling by the edge, he found a mouth.
- Exploring the Congo cost many travelers their lives. Congo explorers had to endure heat and high humidity, they struggled with terrible tropical fevers and nature itself, which prevented progress inland. Local residents, aborigines, were hostile to strangers.
- David Livingstone was the first to see the upper reaches of the river. This happened in 1871. The Scot was just one step away from an amazing discovery. He was not lucky enough to discover that Lualaba belongs precisely to the Congo basin, and not to the Nile. This was done much later by his colleagues.
- The first stations on the river were created under the patronage of the King of Belgium. Leopold II provided funds for the Stanley Expedition, which began in 1881. With this money, the Englishman Stanley built a number of necessary stations.
- Congo has a developed shipping system. The shipping system includes the entire river basin. The total length of the tracks is more than 20 thousand kilometers. The shipping system has a complex branched structure. Thousands of transport ships pass through the shipping lanes every day.
- There are different types of fish in the river.. About 1000 species of fish live in the lakes and rivers that belong to the Congo basin. Fishing is one of the types of income for local residents. Many species of fish are of great commercial importance.
- The river crosses the equator twice. The Congo crosses the equator, and then, turning west in a grandiose arc, heads south, crossing the equator again.
- The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is located off the coast of the Congo.. Brazzaville is on the right bank of the river. A third of the population of the entire country lives in the capital and half of the able-bodied residents who are not engaged in agriculture work.
- The waters of the Congo - a source of energy. The river carries large volumes of water, so it has a large hydroelectric potential. Three large hydroelectric power stations have already been built on the river.
- Congo - a river of unique resources. Geographers have found traces of minerals on its banks. Near the river, deposits of various metals were found: nickel, zinc, silver, copper ore and radium.
- The Congo Basin is a beautiful and picturesque place. The endless bank of the river strikes with amazing landscapes. Mountain peaks continue the evergreen tropical jungle, which turns into endless valleys.
- The ecology of the Congo Basin is about to change. Recently, deforestation has intensified in this region. Because of this, the percentage of absorption of carbon dioxide has sharply decreased. And this threatens with an increase in temperature, climate change. For example, precipitation in the Congo Basin is expected to decrease significantly.
The Congo River is a full-flowing stream flowing through the central and southern regions of Africa. It crosses the equator twice and flows into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the river is 4700 km. This is the 9th place in the world. In terms of water flow, the river ranks 3rd in the world after the Amazon and the Ganges. It discharges an average of 41 thousand cubic meters into the waters of the Atlantic. m/s. The area of the water basin is 4 million 14.5 thousand square meters. km. This is the 2nd place in the world after the Amazon. But in terms of depth, the Congo is in 1st place. In some places, the depth reaches 230 meters. This water stream is considered the second in Africa, second only to the Nile River.
As for the length of the great African river, there is no consensus among geographers. Some of them consider the source from the Lualaba River. Thus, the total length is only 4374 km. The other part of the experts insists on the source of the Chambezi River, which originates near Lake Tanganyika. It is the Congo-Chambezi that is equal to 4700 km. According to generally accepted world practice, the latter value is more in line with the truth, since the longest source is always taken.
Congo river
Chambezi River flows through the northeast of Zambia. It originates at an altitude of 1760 meters above sea level. Her path passes through the swamps of Bangweulu. Part of them is Lake Bangweulu. Further, the river turns towards Lake Mveri, flows into it and flows out into the Luvua River. It is the latter that flows into the Lualaba River.
Lualaba River begins its journey on the Katanga plateau at an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level in Zambia. Crosses the Ternopil plateau, while abounding in waterfalls and rapids. With this in mind, there are hydroelectric power plants on the river. In the city of Bukama, located on the same latitude as Lake Mveri, Lualaba becomes navigable. In the area of the city of Ankoro, the Luvua River flows into this water stream.
Once upon a time, Lualaba was considered the source of the Nile, but it turned out not to be so. The water stream does not turn to the east, but carries its waters to the north. At the same time, in its lower reaches it overcomes rapids and forms numerous waterfalls. The last cascade of waterfalls is called Stanley. After it, the river turns west and near the city of Kisangani changes its name to Congo.
Further, the water stream flows through the flat terrain, which is a plateau at an altitude of 400-500 meters above sea level. In this place the current is calm. Narrow sections alternate with small lakes. The shores are mostly swampy. Further, the Congo River is reunited with its right tributaries: the Ubanga and Sanga rivers. The further path passes between steep banks. The channel is shrinking, and the depth is increasing. Accordingly, the flow accelerates.
Finally, the water stream leaves behind the high rocky shores and spreads in breadth. A small lake Molebo Pool is formed. It is 30 km long and 20 km wide. Then a series of gorges begins again. Granite rocks hang over the water surface at a height of up to 500 meters. The width of the water stream decreases to 400 meters, but the depth increases to 200-230 meters. After the city of Kinshasa, the waters of the river flow down, losing 270 meters of height. These are solid waterfalls and rapids, united under the common name of Livingstone waterfalls.
Congo River on the map
At 148 km from the mouth is the city of Matadi, and the turn of the coastal lowland comes. The river bed expands up to 2 km, and the depth reaches 30 meters. The mouth is estuary. That is, the river flows in a continuous stream, and does not break up into channels and branches. The width of the estuary ranges from 19 to 9 km. It passes into an underwater canyon, the length of which reaches 800 km. Thus, the great African river flows into the Atlantic, connecting the ocean with the regions of Central Africa.
The Congo River flows primarily through the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The state border with the Republic of the Congo and Angola also passes along the river. The river basin is located in tropical forests. Their area is the second largest after the Amazon. Between the cities of Kinshasa and Kisangani it is good developed shipping. But it has no connection with the ocean because of the Livingston waterfalls. In fact, there are several navigable sections on the river, isolated from each other. They are connected by railroads. When transporting goods, this creates certain inconveniences.
There are many cities on the river. You can call Kindu with a population of 135 thousand inhabitants. Kisangani with a population of almost 900 thousand inhabitants. This city has a large river port. But Kinshasa is the capital of the DRC. It is a densely populated area with a population of 10 million people. On the right bank, opposite Kinshasa, is the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Brazzaville, with a population of about 1.3 million people. 246 thousand inhabitants live in Matadi. And in the city of Banana, which is considered a seaport, there are 10 thousand inhabitants.
To date, about 40 hydroelectric power stations have been built in the basin of the great African river. The largest of them are located on the Inga waterfall. It belongs to the Livingston Falls Cascade and is located 200 km southwest of Kinshasa. According to the plan, there should be 5 dams in this place. But to date, only two have been built. This is Inga and Inga II. Together they have 14 turbines. But these are only the first steps, since the Congo basin has a huge energy potential.
Stanislav Lopatin
The Congo River is the continent-crossing pulse of Africa. The deepest river in the world, home to countless species of living beings.
The Congo River is the deepest river on the planet, the length of the Congo is 4344-4700 km. The basin area is 3,680,000 km². The most full-flowing and the second longest river in Africa, the second river in terms of water content in the world after the Amazon. The only major river that crosses the equator twice.
In the middle reaches, the mountainous relief is replaced by a flat one and the river overflows, forming a wide valley with a large number of channels and lakes. The width of the valley in some places reaches 20 km.
The Congo is a natural border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The river has many honorary titles: the deepest river in the world, the depth of which in some places is about 230 meters; ranks second after the Amazon as the most full-flowing river in the world; the longest river in Africa after the Nile; the only major river that crosses the equator twice. This legendary river was discovered in the 15th century (in 1482) by the Portuguese traveler and navigator Diogo Can.
10. As we can see, the river has many different advantages, but its depth makes the river unique, let me remind you that the maximum depth of the Congo is 230 meters. The deepest river in the world, the Congo River.
Tributaries of the Congo: Aruvimi (right), Rubi (right), Mongalla (right), Mobangi (right), Saaga-Mambere (right), Likuala-Lekoli (right), Alima (right), Lefini (right), Lomami (left) ), Lulongo (left), Ikelemba (left), Ruki (left), Kassai (left), Lualaba (left)
Congo (Zaire, Lualaba) - a river in Central Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (partially flows along its borders with the Republic of the Congo and Angola), the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second river in terms of water content in the world after the Amazon. In the upper reaches (above the city of Kisangani) is called Lualaba. The only major river that crosses the equator twice. The basin area is 4,014,500 km.
It originates from the settlement of Mumen.
Geography
river basin
The length of the Congo from the source of Chambeshi is over 4700 km, from the source of Lualaba - 4374 km. The basin area is 4,014,500 km. The source of the Lualaba originates in the southeast of the DRC, on a plateau near the border with Zambia. According to other sources, the source of the Congo is the Chambeshi River, which forms between the lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika at an altitude of 1590 meters above sea level. It flows into Lake Bangweulu, flows out of it under the name Luapula, flows into Lake Mweru, flowing out of it as the Luvua River and joins Lualaba. The upper course of the Congo (Lualaba), located within the plateaus and plateaus, is characterized by the alternation of rapids and leveled pools with a calm current. The steepest drop (475 m at a distance of about 70 km) Lualaba differs in the Nzilo Gorge, with which it cuts through the southern spurs of the Mitumba Mountains. Starting from the city of Bukama, the river slowly flows, strongly meandering, along the flat bottom of the Upemba graben. Below the city of Kongolo, Lualaba breaks through the crystalline rocks by the gorge Port-d, Anfer (Hell's Gate), forming rapids and waterfalls; further downstream, several more groups of waterfalls and rapids follow one another. Between the cities of Kindu and Ubundu the river again flows calmly in a wide valley. Just below the equator, it descends from the marginal ledges of the plateau into the Congo depression, forming the Stanley Falls.
After the Stanley Falls near the city of Kisangani, the river changes its name to the Congo. In the middle course, enclosed within the Congo Basin, the river is calm with a slight drop (on average, about 0.07 m / km). Its channel, predominantly with low and flat, often marshy shores, is a chain of lake-like extensions (in some places up to 15 km), separated by relatively narrowed (up to 1.5-2 km) sections. In the central part of the Congo Basin, the floodplains of the river and its right tributaries, the Ubangi and Sanga, merge into one, forming one of the world's largest periodically flooded areas. As one approaches the western edge of the basin, the appearance of the river changes: here it is compressed between high (100 m and more) and steep bedrock banks, narrowing in places to less than 1 km; depths increase (often up to 20 - 30 m), the current speeds up. This narrow section, the so-called Channel, passes into the lake-like extension of the Stanley Pool (about 30 km long, up to 25 km wide), which ends the middle reaches of the Congo.
In the lower reaches of the Congo, it breaks through to the ocean through the South Guinean Plateau in a deep (up to 500 m) gorge. The width of the channel here decreases to 400-500 m, in some places up to 220-250 m. For 350 km between the cities of Kinshasa and Matadi, the river descends by 270 m, forming about 70 rapids and waterfalls, united under the general name of Livingston waterfalls. Depths in this section are 230 m or more, making the Congo the deepest river in the world. At Matadi, the Congo enters the coastal lowland, the channel expands to 1-2 km, the depths in the fairway reach 25-30 m. Near the city of Boma, the Congo estuary begins, the width of which reaches 19 km in the middle part, then decreases to increases again towards the mouth, where it is 9.8 km. The top and middle part of the estuary are occupied by an actively developing young delta. The continuation of the estuary is the underwater canyon of the Congo with a total length of at least 800 km.
tributaries
The most significant tributaries of the Congo
- upper reaches: on the right - Lufira, Luvua, Lukuga; in the middle reaches: on the left - Lomami, Lulongo, Ruki, Kasai (the largest of the left tributaries), on the right - Aruvimi, Itimbiri, Mongala, Ubangi (the largest tributary of the Congo), Sanga; in the lower reaches - Inkisi (left), Alima (right).
Several large lakes belong to the Congo system: Tanganyika and Kivu in the Lukuga River basin; Bangweulu and Mweru in the Luvua river basin; Mai Ndombe in the Kasai River Basin; Tumba (has a drain directly into the Congo through the Irebu channel).
Hydrology
In the formation of the flow of the rivers of the Congo Basin, abundant rainfall plays a predominant role. Most of the tributaries of the Congo are characterized by a predominance of autumn runoff: on tributaries with catchment areas in the Northern Hemisphere, the maximum rise in water is observed in September-November, in the Southern - in April-May. The April-May runoff maximum is also characteristic of the upper Congo (Lualaba). In the middle, and especially in the lower reaches of the Congo, seasonal fluctuations in runoff are largely smoothed out due to the different time of entry into the river of the hollow waters of its tributaries; of all the great rivers of the globe, the Congo is the most naturally regulated. In the annual course of the level, however, two rises and two declines are clearly expressed. In the middle Congo, the rise of water, corresponding to the autumn maximum of the Lualaba runoff, is shifted to May-June and is of a secondary nature, while the main rise is in November-December under the influence of floods on the northern tributaries. In the lower reaches of the Congo, the main rise also occurs in November-December; a less significant rise in April-May is associated mainly with the autumn maximum flow of the Kasai River. Average water flow in the lower reaches of the Congo (near Boma): annual - 39 thousand m? / sec, in the month of the highest water (December) - 60 thousand m? / sec, in the month of the lowest water (July) - 29 thousand .m?/sec; absolute marginal costs - from 23 to 75 thousand m?/sec. The average annual flow is 1230 km (according to other sources, 1453 km). The huge masses of water carried by the Congo into the ocean desalinate it 75 km from the coast. The solid runoff of the Congo at the mouth area is about 50 million tons per year.
Average monthly flow of water in the river (m?/s) in the area of Kinshasa (480 km from the mouth) from 1903 to 1983
Economic use
Hydropower resources
Compared to other rivers in the world, the Congo has one of the largest hydropower reserves, estimated at 390 GW. The latter is explained by the large amount of water carried by the river, and a significant drop in the channel along its entire length up to the mouth. Other large rivers in their lower reaches are flat and flow in lowlands. Several large hydroelectric power stations have been built in the Congo - Nzila, Nseke (on Lualaba), Inga (at Livingston waterfalls). In total, about 40 hydroelectric power stations have been built in the Congo basin.
The river's largest hydroelectric power plant is Inga, located about 200 km southwest of Kinshasa. The Inga project was launched in the early 1970s with the construction of the first dam. To date, only two dams, Inga I (Fr. Barrage Inga I) and Inga II (Fr. Barrage Inga II), have been built, on which fourteen turbines operate. The Inga III (Fr. Barrage Inga III) and Grand Inga (Fr. Barrage Grand Inga, English Grand Inga Dam) projects are at the design stage. If the Grand Inga project is implemented, its capacity will be more than double that of the Three Gorges HPP in China. There are fears that the construction of these new dams could lead to the extinction of many fish species that are endemic in the river.
Shipping
The total length of navigable routes along the rivers and lakes of the Congo basin is about 20 thousand km. Most of the navigable sections of the rivers are concentrated in the Congo Basin, where they form a single branched system of waterways, which, however, is separated from the ocean by the Livingston Falls in the lower Congo. The river itself has 4 main navigable sections: Bukama - Kongolo (645 km), Kindu - Ubundu (300 km), Kisangani - Kinshasa (1742 km), Matadi - mouth (138 km); the last section, the so-called sea pool, is accessible to ocean-going vessels. The navigable parts of the Congo are interconnected by railroads. The main river and lake ports in the Congo basin: in the Congo - Kinshasa, Brazzaville, Mbandaka, Kisangani, Ubundu, Kindu, Kongolo, Kabalo, Bukama; on the river Ubangi - Bangui; on the Kasai River - Ilebo; on Lake Tanganyika - Kalima, Kigoma, Bujumbura; on Lake Kivu - Bukavu. In the lower reaches of the Congo - the seaports of Matadi, Boma, Banana.
Fishing
The rivers and lakes of the Congo Basin are rich in fish (about 1000 species, many of which are of commercial importance: Nile perch, tilapia, barbel, big tiger fish, freshwater herring and others).
Cities on the river
The most important cities in the Congo:
Bukama
Bukama (the beginning of navigation) is a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga province), a river pier in the upper reaches of the Lualaba River, a railway station on the Lubumbashi-Ilebo line.
Kongolo
Kongolo is a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airport.
Kindu
Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The administrative center of the province of Maniema. Lies on the western bank of the Congo River at an altitude of 500 m above sea level. Connected by rail with the south of the country, has an airport. In the city you can find features of Islamic and Swahili cultures.
Kisangani
Port in Kisangani
Kisangani (until 1966 - Stanleyville) - a city in the northeast of the Congo, the administrative center of the province of Chopo. In 2010, the population was 868,672. Port on the Congo River below Stanley Falls. The city has a railway station, a university and an international airport. It was founded by the famous traveler, explorer of Africa and (journalist Henry Stanley in 1883 and was originally called Stanleyville. Modern Kisangani is the center of an agricultural region where primary processing of agricultural raw materials (rice and cotton gin) is carried out. In addition, there are food, textile, chemical industries , woodworking, as well as the production of building materials.
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (until 1966 - Leopoldville) - the capital (since 1960) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is located on the Congo River, opposite the city of Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. Although the population of the city in 2009 was 10,076,099 people, 60% of its territory is sparsely populated rural areas, which, nevertheless, entered the administrative boundaries of the city. Densely populated urban areas occupy only a small part of the territory in the west of the province.
Matadi
Matadi (in the language of the people of the Congo (Kikongo) - means "stone") - the main seaport of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the center of the province of Central Congo (the former province of Bas-Congo). Matadi was founded in 1879 by Henry Morton Stanley. The city is located on the left bank of the Congo River, 148 kilometers from the mouth. In 2004 the population was 245,862.
boma
Boma is a city in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the estuary of the Congo River, located 75 km from the confluence of the Congo into the Atlantic Ocean. Major port (available for ships; export of cocoa, bananas, rubber, precious woods). There is a food (brewing, fish), chemical, woodworking industry, shipbuilding, metal processing and agricultural products. The starting point of the railway to Chela. The airport. In 2010, the population was 167,326. From 1886 to 1926 it was the capital of the Belgian Congo (then the capital was moved to Leopoldville - now the city of Kinshasa).
Banana
Banana (fr. Banana) is a small town and seaport in the Central Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The port is located on the northern bank of the mouth of the Congo River and is separated from the ocean by a 3-kilometer-long scythe and a width of 100 to 400 meters. To the north-west of the port is the city of Muanda, to which a road is laid along the coast.
Brazzaville
Brazzaville (fr. Brazzaville) is the financial and administrative capital and the most populous city of the Republic of the Congo, located on the right bank of the Congo River, opposite Kinshasa. The population for 2010 is 1,252,974. Brazzaville is home to a third of the population of the Republic of the Congo and employs about 40% of non-agricultural workers.
History of discovery and research
In late 1481, King John II of Portugal sent a fleet of caravels along the west coast of Africa to the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) to open mines for gold. The expedition was led by Diogo de Azambuja. The mine needed slaves, so in 1482 Azambuja sent Diogo Cana to explore the then unknown western coast of Africa. In the region of 6 ° south latitude, the Portuguese discovered the mouth of a large river and landed on the shore, where they were met by black people of the Bantu tribe. They said that the river is called Nzari - “Big”, and the state through whose territory it flows is ruled by a king bearing the title of mani-kongo (English) Russian .. As a sign of the discovery of these lands, the Portuguese installed a padran (stone pillar) near the mouth ), and the river was called the Padrau River (Rio do Padrao).
The upper course of the Congo (Lualaba) was discovered by David Livingston in 1871. Most of the course of the Congo from Nyangwe downstream was explored in 1876-1877 by Henry Stanley. The Kassai tributary was explored by Wissman in 1885.
sights
The most famous waterfalls on the river are the seven-step Stanley (Boyoma) in the upper reaches of the Congo, the Inga in its middle reaches, as well as the cascade of Livingston waterfalls in the lower reaches.
If you are planning a tour of wild Africa, you should definitely find out where the Congo River is located - the deepest and most full-flowing water artery of the “black” continent. On the mainland, it is second in length only to the famous Nile: its length is just over 4370 km.
The Congo is famous for being the only river in the world that crosses the equator twice. In some places, the depth of the river exceeds 200 m, which gave rise to numerous legends about the mythical monsters that supposedly live in it.
Geography of the river
The basin area of the famous wild river exceeds 4,000,000 km2. The water flow in this largest waterway in Africa is more than 41,000 m 3 / s. It is located mainly on the territory of the state of the same name with it. However, a more detailed study of the location of the Congo River on the map shows that in a certain area it flows on the border with Angola.
Information about the sources of the river is rather contradictory. Researchers cannot come to an unambiguous conclusion where the river originates. At the moment there are two officially accepted versions:
- The source is the Lualaba River, which is formed in the southeastern part of the Republic of the Congo on a plateau directly bordering the territory of Zambia.
- The second popular version of where the Congo River begins in Africa looks like this: Chambezi is considered to be its beginning, the waters of which originate between lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika, located at an altitude of about 1600 m. At the exit from the natural reservoir Mweru Chambezi flows into Lualaba.
Among the interesting facts about the Congo, it is worth mentioning that the waterway has two names. Its upper course (up to the settlement of Kisangani) is called by the locals in the same way as the possible source - Lualaba.
In the upper reaches of the Congo there are many rapids and waterfalls that seriously impede navigation. It forms the largest waterfall (about 500 m high) in the Nzilo Gorge, located in the southern foothills of the Mitumba mountain range. Stormy sections alternate with a leisurely current, and after the Stanley Falls, located near the equator, it carries its waters smoothly and evenly. Here, its shores are rather low and swampy, and in some places the distance between them is up to 10-15 km, which allows us to speak about the formation of natural lakes.
In the lower reaches, the river flows through the territory of the South Guinean Plateau, and its banks here are rocky and steep (their height reaches 500 m). Between the settlements of Kinshasa and Matadi, the Congo forms the famous Livingston waterfalls, the considerable depth of which earned her the fame of the deepest river in Africa.
The most significant right tributaries of the water artery are:
- in the upper part: Lukuga, Luvua, Lufira;
- in the middle part: Ubangi, Aruvimi, Sanga, Mongala, Itimbiri;
- in the lower reaches: Alima.
The left tributaries of the Congo include Kasai, Lulongo, Ruki, Lomami (in the middle part) and Inkisi (in the lower reaches). It is intuitively clear where the river flows: its jets mix with the waters of the Atlantic.
Features of climatic conditions
The entire Congo Basin has a tropical equatorial climate. The average annual temperature is +25-28 °C, but in the summer months the thermometer often rises to +30 °C. The rainy season falls on March-April and October-December, and the total amount of precipitation reaches 2000 mm per year.
Almost everywhere the coast of the Congo is covered with equatorial forests. In the jungle you can find such unique representatives of the African flora as mahogany, hevea, eucalyptus, ebony. Many evergreen shrubs grow here, and the height of individual trees reaches 70 m.
The river basin is home to herds of gazelles, zebras and giraffes, often hunted by agile cheetahs. Elephants, hippos and hairy wild boars often come to the watering hole, and anthropomorphic gorillas are found in the jungle. The world of reptiles and insects on the shores of the Congo is impressive: there are crocodiles, poisonous spiders, water pythons, cobras. The depths of the river are also inhabited: while fishing, you can catch huge predatory tiger fish, catfish, Nile perch, barbel, freshwater herring, mormirops.
The length of the tiger fish can reach 2 m, and the weight can reach 70-80 kg, so you should be careful when hunting for it.
Excursions in the Congo
You can choose tours on the Congo River in two different directions:
- A civilized journey through the cities of the country located in the basin of this waterway: Brazzaville, Kongolo, Kisangani, Kinshasa, Kindu, Matadi, Boma and others. This will allow you to get to know the culture and economy of the country better, and you can travel between settlements by ferry.
- An exciting excursion to the unknown world of the jungle on traditional Congolese canoes with visits to the villages of indigenous tribes and overnight stays in hotels on the shore. Such a trip usually takes 7-8 days and will cost about 3000 USD per person (including accommodation).
How to get there
You can get to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and see the natural beauties of the river by purchasing an air ticket for a transit flight to Kinshasa. There is no direct flight connection with Moscow, so it will be necessary to make a transfer in Zurich, Paris, Rome, Lisbon or Brussels. The cost of the flight is quite high and amounts to 1000 USD - 1500 USD in both directions.
After arrival, you can immediately go to the capital of the state - Brazzaville, by purchasing a ferry ticket for 5 USD - 15 USD. The trip will take no more than 20 minutes, but you should arrive about an hour before the departure of the ship in order to calmly go through passport and customs control.
Ferries from Kinshasa also depart for Bangui (Central African Republic). They run only 2-3 times a month, covering a huge distance of more than 1000 km upstream of the river and stopping in all major settlements. This is a great opportunity to explore the geography of the Congo more thoroughly. A ferry ticket will cost from 9,000 CFA (deck space) to 70,000 CFA (first class cabin).
The Congo River is one of the most amazing natural attractions in Africa, and therefore deserves a detailed study by true connoisseurs of travel.
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