Kisangani
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Tshopo · 396 m
Description
Kisangani sits on the equator at the head of navigation on the Congo, where the Boyoma Falls block the river in seven cataracts over a hundred kilometres. Boats from Kinshasa take two weeks upstream and terminate here. At the first cataract the Wagenia build wooden tripods anchored in holes the current has worn into the rock and hang conical baskets from them to trap fish, a method passed down through families. Conrad and Naipaul both wrote about the town. Wide avenues and shuttered trading houses survive from the days when it was called Stanleyville. Barges leave downstream for Kinshasa every few weeks.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 4 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: January – February or June – July
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Wagenia fishermen at the Boyoma Falls
- Boyoma Falls cataracts on the Congo
- Congo river boats and the port
- Colonial avenues of old Stanleyville
- Equator marker outside the town
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Rosaire
- Yangambi research station and its arboretum(Day trip)
- Marché central and the river fish stalls
- Tshopo falls at the edge of town
- Pirogue crossings to the river islands
- Lokele river traders and their canoes
Getting there
- Airports:
- FKI
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry