Area: 2,345,364 km2TOURIST ATTRACTIONS 1. ALBERT NATIONAL PARK: DRC;(created  1925, enlarged 1929,1934, and 1935).Originally created as a reserve to form a sanctuary for the mountain gorilla, Albert National Park extends from the volcanic shores of lake Kivu in the South to the rainforests around the middle semliki River in the north; that is, it lies on both sides of the equator . Its territory covers an extraordinary diversity of habitats, ranging from the equatorial lowland rainforest at 800m up to the permanent snow and glaciers on the Ruwenzori at 5,119m, an altitudinal range that gives a representative series of different types of climate and a variety of vegetation Zones. In  this remarkably rich complex of habitats there are many plant and animal species with endemic or restricted distribution, the best known being the mountain gorilla, which lives in the Virunga volcanoes. The great value of the Albert National Park is that it can be regarded as an ecosystem where man does not interfere. Geographical location;Kivu province, eastern DRC. Accessibility: By plane to Goma, South of the park then by road (about 160km from Goma to Rwindi camp). Accommodation: Rwindi camp between Rutshuru and lake Edward.GEOLOGY: The Albert National park is part of the western Rift valley.  Of the eight large volcanoes of the virunga chain, two are still active with frequent eruptions; Nyamuragira (3,058m) and Nyiragongo (3,471m).Old and recent lava fields cover the high plains between the two active volcanoes and the extinct volcanoes in the eastern sector,  mikeno (4,427m), Karisimbi (4,507m), Visoke (3,711m), Sabinio (3,634m), Gahinga (3,474m), and Muhavura (4,127m).The giant snow- capped Ruwenzori (5,119m),  third highest mountain in Africa,  is a horst and much older than the virungas, which probably originated during the Quaternary.TOPOGRAPHY:Straddling the equator, the park embraces large and small lakes at various levels, marshes, bogs, rivers, different types of savannas and forests, all montane vegetation belts, extinct and living volcanoes, hot springs,  lava plains, and  non-volcanic mountains (Ruwenzori).The two largest lakes of the park belong to different water systems; lake Kivu to the Congo basin and lake Edward to the Nile system.CLIMATE: Altitudinal differences have a strong influence on temperature, rainfall,  humidity,  and evaporation at various levels of the reserve. There are no pronounced dry or rainy seasons.FLORA: The park covers all of the main habitats of tropical Africa (except deserts, semi deserts, and marine biotopes).The plains surrounding lake Edward and the Rwindi, Rutshuru, and Semliki rivers are savannas of different types; some covered by grasses (species belonging to genera like Themeda, Heteropogon, Imperata, Cymbopogon, Hyparrhenia, Sporobolus) with patches of bush – acacias, combretums or bush –willows,  and maeruas; other savannas have euphorbias scattered over vast areas; the plains north of  lake Edward are dominated by acacia forests.Mountain rainforests with a wealth of plants and animals cover the lower slopes of the vitunga volcanoes and the Ruwenzori. Above the montane rainforests,  extending up to 2,300- 2500m, there are belts of bamboos, hagenia or Kusso forests, heaths or ericaceous species (Erica and Philippia), dense growths of st. Johns worts , afro- alpine species of Lobelias and groundsels, and finally grasses, mosses,  and lichens.  On Ruwenzori, glaciers fill the upper most zone.MAMMALS: These open grasslands and tree savannas offer views of most of the larger ungulates of the park. Elephants and buffaloes are very numerous; among the antelopes, species like the Kob, the Topi, and the defassa waterbuck are the most common, but reedbucks and bushbucks occur. Warthogs are common while their relatives, the giant forest hog and the African bush pig, chiefly nocturnal, are common though seldom seen. The spotted hyena is the most often encountered of the larger carnivores. Lions and leopards are common but not so easily seen  since they rest during the  day. Among other carnivores of the savannas; the side- striped jackal, Banded mongoose, African civet, African wildcat, and serval. Olive baboons and vervet monkeys are characteristic animals on bush and tree- savannas. Rivers are lined with wild date palms and inhabited by hippopotamuses (Albert National Park) has Africa's densest population), which are also common along the shores of Lake Edward. Though they may also graze in the daytime, they leave their water refuges chiefly at night to graze on the plains, mostly on the panicum grass. The transition zone between the enormous equatorial lowland rainforest and the mountain rainforest has a remarkably high number of plant and animal species,  the most interesting being the Okapi, the bongo, and the Chimpanzee. Above the Montane rain forest belt the most famous and interesting animal in this park is the mountain gorilla that lives in the hagenia forests of the virunga volcanoes at an elevation between 3,000 and 3,500 meters.BIRDS: Passerines, pigeons, vultures, Eagles, Kites, waders, Francolins, and Many others are seen almost everywhere. Marshy river deltas and many bays of Lake Edward, which has abundant fish, are extremely rich in birds,particularly during September- April with a multitude of migratory waders and herons and also large numbers of purely African birds such as pelicans, storks, ducks, gallirules, and birds of prey. 2) GARAMBA NATIONAL PARK (Created 1938) DRC;The park National de la Garamba has boundaries contiguous with the Sudan in the north- east and with a game reserve in the South west. Originally it was established to protect the populations of the square- lipped rhinoceros, one of the rarest mammals in Africa. Geographical location: Uele district, NE DRC. Area: 492,000 ha. Climate: Tropical; semi moist in rainy season,  arid in the long dry period (Nov-March) tsetse flies absent.GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY:An ancient peneplain, the region of this park is a vast undulating platean with a few isolated hills (inselbergs); elevation;  710- 1061 meters.FLORA: Woodlands, wooded savannas, and enormous Treeless grasslands (annually swept by fires) form a forest- savanna mosaic, with important gallery forests fringing the Garamba River. Grasses are chiefly loudetia arundinacea and  Hyparrhenia that reach in June a height of more than two meters. Tallest grass; Urelytrum thyrsoides over 5m. In the woodlands are bauhinias dombeyas, erythrinas or coral trees; in the gallery forests; Irvingia smith,  date palms,  khayas, fig or rubber trees, water- berry trees, and flambeau trees.MAMMALS: Originally the park contained about a third of the world population of the square- lipped rhinoceros and more than half of the north eastern race of this species. Giraffes, Hartbeests, Kobs, Waterbucks,  and Hippopotamuses are found. Others are chimpanzees, olive  baboons, colobi, vervets, and 5 other species of monkeys, as well as wild dogs,  otters (2 species),  mongooses (5 species),  Golden cats, Leopards, Lions, Warthogs, Bush pigs, Giant forest hogs and other 7 species of Antelopes. 3) UPEMBA NATIONAL PARK (created 1939) DRC;The Park National del' Upemba, second largest reserve of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is  located in the Katanga in the tropical southern savanna belt. Its diversified habitats range from lakes, swamps, and savannas to woods, forests and highland prairies, a diversity arising from its situation at the border of two  biogeographically region; the Guinean and the Zambesian. The park offers vast landscapes with far- off horizons. Geographical location: Katanga , SE DRC. Size: 950,000 ha. GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY:The two high plateaus of Kibara in the north and Biano in the South, relics of an ancient peneplain covering an immense area of Katanga, are today separated by an extensive geologic fissure, part of the graben of Kamolondo. This National Park is characterized by the lake Upemba depression with many lakes and swamps drained by the Lufua River and by the Luabala River) which,  on its way to the Atlantic ocean, changes its name to Congo River, recently renamed the Zaire River).CLIMATE: In general, temperate on the high plateaus,  diversified by elevation differences (500-1,860m).FLORA: The lowland comprise aquatic habitats,  with papyrus, joint vetches,  and cat tails,  grassy savannas fringing lakes and swamps: gallery forests with khayas( Mahogany) and fig or rubber trees along river courses; lowland bushy or wooded savannas of Miombo type with uapaca trees, bark –cloth trees, palmyra palms,  sansevieria, hyparrhenia grass,  sat- in tail grass and panicum or witch grass. Somewhat higher are gallery forests with raffia palms and Bamboos and the open Katangase forest,  one of the most beautiful in Africa, dominated by bark- cloth trees and isoberlinia. The highlands have aquatic habitats; Marshy savannas,  and wooded savannas with satin- tail grass; gallery forests along rivers;  and primary savannas of the high plateau with a great variety of herbs.MAMMALS: Hippopotamuses, waterbucks,  buffaloes, and elephants; on the high plateaus are roans, elands,  lichtenstein’s hartebeests, and Zebras, sable antelopes are found in the forests.  Monkeys (6 species),  lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, wild dog, bush pig, warthog,  and 8 species of antelopes other than those already mentioned.BIRDS: Waterbirds gather in fabulous numbers in the lowlands. There are 31 species of raptors in the reserve.REPTILES: 2 crocodiles and 10 species of chameleons.