Garamba is a living piece of African history.
When the Belgians were running the Belgian Congo in the late 19th and early part of the 20th Century they had an amazing idea: they started a project to domesticate the African Elephant so that it could work in the Congo forests like its "cousin" in Asia. They caught 50-or-so females and a couple of bulls from the wild and set about habituating them. The project enjoyed considerable success and it took place at Garamba, on the edge of the Congo forest just inside the border with Sudan.
Getting to Garamba is a struggle: the international gateway is Entebbe, Uganda from where we arrange a flight to Arua in northern Uganda. Our man will meet you and guide you across the border to Aru in DRC. A plane will be waiting to take you to Nagero, the headquarters of Garamba National Park.
Day 1: Fly from Entebbe to Arua (1 hour). Cross the border into DRC (10 Km; visa cost 70 US$). Fly from Aru to Nagero (1 hour) and check in to the Garamba Station lodge.
Day 2, 3 and 4: The park is your own! You're unlikely to meet any other travellers in Garamba. There are several conservation initiatives and a trail re-construction programme going on. There are also a couple research PhD projects, but apart from them, very few travellers. At the moment (2011) it is not possible to safari north of the Gramba river because the bridge was washed out some years ago and hasn't yet been restored. It's on the list of piorities!
The wonderful thing about Garamba is the fact that many of the animals you see are unique sub-species. For example, the northern white rhino forms a distinct population (approx 4 remain in the wild - perhaps); Garamba elephants lie between the small swamp elephant and the savanna elephant; and the savanna giraffe.
The really unique aspect of Garamba is the African Elephant Domestication Centre at Gangala-na-Bodio, a few miles from Nagero. Four of the original 70-odd domesticated elephants remain.
Day 5: return to Entebbe.
Best season is Feb to June (inclusive).
The price for this itinerary depends on the number of people travelling. We need to charter a plane and arrange guides. £200 per person per day is a reasonable budget figure.
Contact us for advice on how to include Garamba National Park into your DRC itinerary.