Lésio-Louna Reserve

Lésio-Louna lies two and a half hours north of Brazzaville on the Batéké plateau, where grassland runs to the horizon and gallery forest follows every river. The reserve takes in orphaned western lowland gorillas, raises them on forested islands in the Léfini river and releases those that can manage on their own. Visitors go out by pirogue to watch the groups on the islands. Buffalo, sitatunga and forest elephants live in the wider reserve, and the plateau country of white sand and open savanna looks nothing like the rainforest most people expect of the Congo.