Not to be confused with the infamous Democratic Republic of Congo across the river, the Republic of Congo is a smaller, friendlier and marginally more peaceful country than its neighbor.

The Republic of Congo is said to be one of Africa’s most urbanized countries: over 70 percent of its population resides either in the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire or is clustered along the railway line between. Geographically the state can be split into the western coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau and northern basin areas. Tropical rain forest and woodland, mainly in the sparsely populated northeast, covers some 62 percent of the land, and 169 kilometres of Atlantic coastline hosts the economically important oil industry.

Congo’s 13600 square kilometres Odzala National Park has one of Africa’s oldest and least-known tropical ecosystems. Beneath a jungle canopy of 40 meter high trees, mammals like elephants, buffaloes and indigenous red river hogs roam through almost virgin undergrowth.