Lambaréné
Gabon · Moyen-Ogooué · 30 m
Description
Lambaréné lies on an island where the Ogooué runs almost a kilometre wide, and Albert Schweitzer built his hospital on the bank here in 1913. He ran it for half a century, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 and is buried beside the river under a simple cross. The wards of the 1920s stand as a museum with his consulting room, his piano and his living quarters kept as he left them, while a modern hospital works alongside. Pelicans and antelope still wander the grounds. Pirogues leave the town for a chain of lakes to the south where hippos and manatees live.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and its historic wards
- Musée Albert Schweitzer
- Schweitzer's grave above the river
- The Ogooué river and the island town
- Pirogue trips to Lac Évaro and Lac Oguemoué
- Hippos and manatees in the lakes
- Pelicans and antelope in the hospital grounds
- Andendé, the mission where Schweitzer began
- Fishing on the Ogooué and the lakes
- Marché de Lambaréné
- Birdwatching along the lake shores
- Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné
- Bridges onto the island
- Confluence of the Ngounié and the Ogooué
- Smoked river fish at the landing stages
Getting there
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry