Minkébé

Situated in the extreme northeast of the country, a huge expanse of forest which is at present virtually uninhabited.

Park Highlights

• Uninhabited forest
  When the Fang people left the Minkébé region in the first half of the twentieth century the Minkébé region became a massive expanse of forest without permanent human population. Trees many hundreds of years old are to be found and the region is crisscrossed by elephant paths. Thousands of marshy clearings break the forest cover.
• Inselbergs
  The landscape is dominated by isolated rock domes overlooking the surrounding forest canopy. They are covered by grassland and cactus-like plants, and offer panoramas of endless forest.
• River expeditions
  The Minkébé forest can be explored by pirogue following four main rivers.
• Rare animals
  Mammals which are rare for Gabon as a whole, such as the Bongo, the largest forest antelope, and the Giant Forest Hog, the biggest species of pig, are concentrated in the Minkébé region.

International status

• The Minkébé National Park, created in the year 2000 as a fauna reserve, is acknowledged as a critical site for conservation by IUCN and has been proposed as a World Heritage Site.

Tourist facilities

• The WWF initiated a management program in 1997. Two provincial bases were created, one at Oyem, the other at Makokou. A central camp was established at the mouth of the river Nouna to manage the protected area, with satellite camps on the Oua river and in the Bordamur and SHM forestry concessions.
• Makokou and Oyem have hotels and regular plane flights.