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Your mandrill safari in the Lopé-Okanda park
Live a unique experience for three days and two nights in a bivouac in the heart of the savannah and near the gallery forests of the Lopé park in Gabon, your safari by tracking during slow walks during the day of several hours, the mandrills , chimpanzees and gorillas , to observe them live in their natural environment and photograph them to immortalize your safari. You will have the opportunity on this occasion to discover the richness of the flora of more than 1500 different species.
How is my bivouac safari organized?
Your guide Saturnin Responsible for the organization of your safari in Lopé and the organization of your Bivouac
Where is the bivouac located?
Departure is from your hotel in the village of Lopé. The trip is done in 4x4 with the team of guides who will accompany you for the duration of your safari. The mandrills move, the place of the bivouac will depend on the place where the groups of mandrills have been spotted beforehand. After installation, the first march can be organized.
What does the bivouac include
For a successful bivouac, we provide you with:
The tent and the mattress
Equipment for cooking
Meals with bottled water
How is the safari
Groups of mandrills move to feed, so it is necessary to track them in slow, gradual walks. On this occasion you will be supervised by experienced guides, for your safety, the number of guides will depend on the number of participants.
When is the mandrills safari?
In general, you must come in the dry seasons to observe to be able to observe a large part of the wildlife, namely from December to February and from June to mid-September. However, for the mandrills , it is strongly advised to come in July, August during the copulation period.
How to access Lopé Park
We offer several solutions to get you to Lopé from Libreville.
Traveling with the Transgabonais train
The village of Lopé is served by the Transgabonai. Departures from Owendo are at the end of the day and your arrival in the middle of the night, the return to Owendo is early in the morning. The Owendo station is located about 30 km from downtown Libreville.
We manage the purchase of your ticket and the transfer to the train station, as well as your welcome on your return in the morning to take you back either to the hotel or to the Libreville airport.
By traveling by train, you can combine your safari with the discovery of the Ivindo park that we offer from Booué station.
The Transgabonais, aboard your air-conditioned car you will have a personalized welcome. You will benefit from comfortable and reclining seats, tablets and night lights, electrical outlets.
4x4 rental with driver in Libreville
This solution is more expensive, because it requires the rental of a vehicle driven by a driver guide from Lopé. This one picks you up in Libreville. You will use this vehicle to get to the Bivouac.
This solution is more flexible in terms of organization. You can combine the Lopé safari with another destination on the outward or return journey, for example to discover Lambarene or continue towards the south of Gabon.
Presentation of the Lopé-Okanda National Park
The Lopé National Park is the interface between a dense tropical forest and a savannah environment. It is a mosaic of landscapes dominated by savannah interrupted by gallery forests and marantaceae groves and forests. This environment is conducive to observing a wide range of habitats and species, including large mammals as well as 412 species of birds including the picatharte, the hornbill. In addition, the park is home to archaeological treasures dating back at least 400,000 years.
Lopé National Park a unique place for mandrills
The park is the only protected area in Africa that supports a large population of mandrills around 20 individuals per km2; i.e. a population estimated at around 100,000 individuals.
Studies show that the park has groups of mandrills that can number from 600 to 800 individuals, or exceptionally up to 1350.
A very diversified fauna for a safari in the Lopé park
During your safari, in addition to the mandrills and depending on the season, you will have the opportunity to observe a large number of species. The park hosts a large population of lowland gorillas between 2000 and 3000, chimpanzees estimated at around 2,000, 100,000 black colobus, but also about 5,500 forest elephants, 1,000 panthers and many buffaloes as well as many birds and a wide variety of flora.