Located in the heart of the great Congo basin rainforest, the Odzala National Park covers 13.600 square km, and is one of Africa's least-known and most extraordinary tropical forest ecosystems. Climatic fluctuations in Central Africa over the past several thousand years have caused a succession of transitions from forest to savannah and back to forest. The resulting patchwork of savannahs and forests that we see today in the Odzala National Park explains the exceptional diversity of plants and animals found here. The resulting patchwork of savannahs and forests that we see today in the Odzala National Park explains the exceptional diversity of plants and animals found here. Beneath the 40 metre high trees of this vast expanse of forest, some of which may never have been visited by man, healthy populations large forest mammals roam. But one of the really unique features of the Odzala National Park is the presence of many forest clearings or "salines" offering marvellous opportunities for observing otherwise rarely seen forest species. Attracted by the mineral salts in the soils and the succulent herbaceous plants sitatungas are commonly observed shoulder to shoulder with gorillas, elephants, giant forest hog. These are also excellent areas for bird watching. The Park was created in 1935 and is one of the oldest parks in Africa. Its owes its existence to Mr. St Floris the administrator of the French Equatorial Africa. Located in a remote area with a low human population the spectacular wildlife is well protected. In the recent past elephant poaching in the south of the park and along the rivers was a problem but the presence of ECOFAC has significantly curtailed this activity. The local populations, living mainly around the south west of the Park, are made up of various Bantu groups. The many forest resources are vital to their way of life. Located in the heart of the great Congo basin rainforest, the Odzala National Park, recently extended to cover 13.600 km2, is one of Africa's least known and most extraordinary tropical forest ecosystems. Climatic fluctuations in Central Africa over the past several thousand years have caused a succession of transitions from forest to savannah and back to forest.
The resulting patchwork of savannas and forests that we see today in the Odzala National Park explains the exceptional diversity of plants and animals found here. Grimm's duiker, spotted hyenas and lions, typically savanna species, are found shoulder to shoulder with forest elephants, buffalos, bongos, leopards, gorillas and other forest mammal species. This mosaïc of forest and savanna has resulted in a variety of landscapes, and a feeling of space, rarely encountered in forested zones. Another unique feature of the Odzala National Park is the presence of many forest clearings offering marvellous game viewing opportunities. These clearings appear to be created and maintained by the high number of large mammals that are attracted to them by the mineral salts in the soils, and by particular plant species that grow here. Gorilla, bongo and elephant, giant forest hog, bush pig, sitatunga and leopard are all regular visitors to these clearings. The area has been relatively well protected until now by its isolation and a low human population density. Monitoring changes in forest of the tropical belt presents a formidable yet vital challenge for remote sensing. In order to address this issue a joint project between the Joint Research Centre (in Italy) and the European Space Agency was initiated entitled the TREES Project: Tropical Ecosystem Environment observation by Satellite. The TREES project is oriented towards the study of tropical forest dynamics at regional to global scales using remote sensing techniques. One of the problems involves the ground-truthing of satellite images in order to determine the vegetation types. To overcome this problem, geo-referenced CyberTracker data collected at Odzala is sent to the TREES Project in Italy to assist them in their interpretation of satellite images. The pilot project in Odzala will now be expanded by ECOFAC to ten other national parks in central Africa, including the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinee Equatoriale, Sao Tomé, RCA, Cameroun and Tchad.
Odzala National Park is a wildlife reserve the size of 13.600 km2, located in the heart of Congo basin rainforest in Republic of Congo, near the border of Gabon. Established already in 1935, Odzala National Park is one of the oldest parks of Africa. However, it has remained as a remote and rarely visited destination, which has not yet reached wide reputation. The forested area of the park has some forest clearings, which make spotting animals easier. Odzala National Park offers you good possibilities to see the typical African jungle species, including gorillas, lions, hyenas, elephants, buffaloes, and leopards in their natural surroundings. As a bonus to all this comes the rich biodiversity of the tropical flora found in the rainforests and savanna lands found inside the park. Weather in Odzala National Park is tropical, with average monthly high temperatures climbing to 30°C or near all-year round. The area of the park faces two rain seasons, the first of which is between March and May, and the second between September and December. During the wettest months of the year, which means May and November, the safari camps inside the park are closed, making Odzala National Park practically inaccessible destination. The best time to travel to the park is in January, February, June, July and August. Located in western part of Congo Brazzaville, Odzala National Park is often reached through Gabon, especially as the safety situation of Congo does not always allow safe traveling to Odzala National Park through the country.
