From the flat river plains, and dense rainforest on the Atlantic coast, to the Chaillu Mountains in the central highlands and the lush jungle interior of the eastern region, Gabon’s terrain is wild, rugged and teeming with African wildlife including astonishing bird diversity, leopards, forest elephants, chimpanzees, lowland gorillas and forest buffalo.

The nation is also blessed with an 800-kilometre-long stretch of coast dotted with isolated palm-fringed bays, exquisite hidden lagoons, and fertile estuaries brimming with marine life. With so much to see and do, Gabon calls to adventurous nature lovers looking for something new to explore.

Located on the west coast of central Africa and bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, Gabon’s neighbours are Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo. Lush, green forests cover 85% of its territory, with an impressive 11.25% of the country proclaimed as national parks.

Regular direct international flights to Libreville are available from Europe and other African countries with airlines including Air France, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir. In Gabon we use fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, 4X4 vehicles and boats to access the various parks and locations used on our expeditions.

There is no bad time to visit Gabon, however the season during which you travel informs the locations chosen and the experience focus. Equatorial Gabon has a tropical climate relatively hot and humid year-round. Broadly the period October to April is the wet season and May to September the dry season. The wet season is the best time for photography as there’s beautiful light and sunshine between short bouts of heavy rain. The dry season makes for perfect activity options and walking conditions with wonderful mammal congregations where water is accessed.

Wildlife viewing varies across the seasons. For instance Mandrill viewing in Lopé NP is at it’s best during June-July, prime time for whale and dolphin viewing is August-September, and birdwatching and turtle viewing is best from November to March.

Seasonal and Year-Round activites

Lopé National Park

Located on the equator and framed by the beautiful Ogooué River, Lopé National Park was the first protected area in Gabon and enlisted as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2007. The park offers beautifully diverse habitats and landscapes and is an important refuge to over 1 400 endangered mandrills and 420 bird species, as well as western lowland gorillas, sun-tailed guenon and black colobus monkeys, chimpanzees and forest elephants.

Loango National Park

Known as ‘Africa’s last Eden’, the iconic Loango National Park offers a mosaic of forests, wetlands, grassy plains, mangroves, lagoons and sandy beaches. From forest elephant, forest buffalo, numerous monkey species, chimpanzees, lowland gorillas, red river hogs, hippo, sitatunga and incredible birdlife on land to migrating dolphins, whales and turtles in the sea, this impressive park is one of the best wild-life watching destination on earth.

Sette Cama

A finger of land jutting out between the Ndogo Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, the pristine Sette Cama peninsula offers nature lovers the opportunity to see chimpanzees, lowland gorillas, red river hogs, forest sitatunga, duikers and monkey species, brilliant birdlife and the unique opportunity to view forest elephant, forest buffalo and hippo on the beach. This is also a prime sport fishing destination for the catch and release fishing enthusiasts.

Pongara National Park

Pongara National Parks shimmering estuary, mangrove swamps and flooded forest are home to diverse bird and monkeys species, forest elephants and hippos wading in slow-moving lagoons. Tracts savannah are sanctuary for forest buffalo and elephant, red river hog and the elusive leopard. The national park’s marine reserve is one of Africa’s prime locations for viewing breeding humpback whales and dolphins, and the tawny beaches welcome thousands of nesting leatherback, green, olive ridley and hawksbill sea turtles.