Campo Ma’an Gorilla Trekking: Cameroon’s Wildlife Adventure
6 DaysThe Republic of Camerron stands as a premier destination for exclusive primate conservation tourism. Campo Ma’an National Park perfectly showcases this lush environment. Kwafrika Travel proudly invites you to experience Campo Ma’an Gorilla Trekking. We meticulously crafted this six-day expedition for the true wilderness explorer. Going deep into Cameroon’s rainforest reveals an ancient, untouched ecosystem. This pristine habitat teems with rare biodiversity and dramatic natural landscapes.
Trekking Western Lowland Gorillas here offers unparalleled access to an active habituation project. Park authorities still restrict this specific reserve from the general public. Consequently, our guests join an elite tier of global travelers. You will actively witness and support pioneering conservation efforts in real-time. This unique journey safely transcends standard African safaris. It transforms you from a mere spectator into an active participant in wildlife preservation.
What will you encounter on the Campo Ma’an Gorilla Trekking?
Initially, your journey explores Campo Ma’an National Park, a 2,640-square-kilometer biodiversity hotspot protecting pristine Atlantic Biafran rainforest. Here, researchers regularly document 80 distinct mammal species, including rare black colobus monkeys and elusive forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis). Therefore, targeted nature walks maximize your chances of documenting these diverse canopy residents across the protected landscape.
Next, the tracking route focuses on the park’s strict core zone, which anchors a vital regional stronghold for endangered primates. Local Bagyeli trackers guide you through the dense undergrowth, deciphering fresh nests and complex vocalizations to locate habituated families. Because we limit our groups to four participants, your 60-minute habituation encounter remains profoundly intimate and low-impact.
✔ Strengths
• Highly diverse ecosystem coverage
• Exclusive and off-the-beaten-path experience
• Combination of safari, primate tracking, and coastal wildlife
⚠️Important considerations:
- Long driving distances (Day 5 especially)
- Gorilla tracking is physically demanding
- Remote areas with variable comfort levels
CANCELLATION POLICY
Any cancellation of a booking by a Client, shall be effective upon its acknowledged receipt by the Company. The date on which the Company receives the correspondence (Notification), will determine the cancellation charge, if any.
a) 0% of total tour cost is forfeited for cancellation made 90 days or more before departure.
b) 30% of total tour cost is forfeited for cancellations made between 89 and 60 days before departure.
c) 70% of total tour cost is forfeited for cancellations made fewer (less than 60) days before departure.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Gorilla tracking depends on natural conditions and cannot be guaranteed 100%. A rare and immersive expedition into Cameroon’s wildlife, far from mass tourism.
Cameroon Gorilla trekking Tour: 6 Days in Campo Ma’an
Day 01 :
Arrival in Douala (or Yaounde) Foyer Du Marin or similar
You will be met by your local guide at the Douala or Yaounde N’Simalen International Airport upon arrival and transferred to the hotel. If your arrival time falls in the morning, you may want to visit the city of Douala to fill up this day or simply relax in your hotel in readiness for the next day adventure.
Day 02 :
Douala – Kribi – Campo Ma’an
Early departure from Douala this day, leaving the hotel in the morning after breakfast and embarking on a 8 – 9h scenic drive to the costal district of Campo that lays some 250km South of Douala. The road is picturesque, thus offers tremendous opportunities for pictures and great reward for active photographers as you will be traversing series of scenically diverse landscapes, plentiful encounters with people, many displays of activities reflecting the local people’s daily life, roadside markets, and clusters of rustic villages.
From Douala to Kribi, the 180 km road is completely sealed (except for some few portions at the entrance of Kribi that feature potholes) and takes approximately 4h, unlike the 75km last portion of the journey from Kribi to Campo that takes about 5h as the road is unsealed and in derelict condition. We expect to reach Campo in the evening. Overnight at Chez Thiery, a basic but reasonably clean motel that stands like the best accommodation option in the area.
Day 03 :
Campo Ma’an National Park Tents
Today we will make our way to the pier and enter the park where we will begin our Gorilla trekking the next day. From the motel, take a 30 min drive to the harbor where the motorized boat will be waiting for us. Before embarking the boat, we will do some few paperwork with the park authorities that will permit us to enter the park and then board the powered boat for an hour voyage to the entrance of the Gorilla part of Campo NP. After disembarking the boat, we start our forest trekking for about a couple of hours before we reach the Gorilla camp where we will spend the night. Noteworthy, the way to reach the Gorilla camp is itinerant as you can also drive to the park via another route, but the way to go depends exclusively on the park authorities, so the above-described route could be replaced with an alternative.
If we take the water/land route, it is a delight for photography. Apart from the plethora of gigantic tropical trees and numerous plant species, the most interesting stop of the day would be an undiscovered waterfall locally known as Zock Dassembang Falls (Meaning the Elephant that saws its own tusk) that stretches in the middle of the jungle. Located in a down pitch in the depths of the park, these waterfalls are still not known by the public, so you may be among the first people to explore the highlight. We arrive in the Gorilla camp in the late afternoon. Overnight in tents.
Day 04 :
Campo Ma’an National Park Tents
Early wake up and breakfast in the camp before departing to the forest to track the Gorilla. Following the track of the Gorilla is exclusively by trekking and may take anyway from 40 min to 2h and sometimes even more, depending on the site the Gorillas nestled the day before and spent the night. Therefore, be ready to squelch in the mud, get your feet dirty and wet by shallow streams you may potentially have to come across, walk over rough terrain… In the company of trackers, rangers and the local guide, spend about an hour in the vicinity of the Gorillas before returning to the camp for the rest of the day. Alternatively, you may opt for another forest walk to visit other part of the park and wat it has best to offer.
Day 05 :
Campo Ma’an National Park Tents
Gor for a second gorilla experience this morning as you follow the trackers, researchers and rangers to the Gorilla group. The process of Gorilla habituation in Campo Ma’an is still under development and thus Gorilla Tourism is not yet open to the world for visit, so consider yourself privileged to be among the few first and rare people to visit the group. Like in other countries of central Africa, Western Lowland Gorilla is the species of Gorilla found in Campo Ma’an. Unlike the Uganda/Burundi Mountain Gorillas, the Western Lowland Gorillas roam and leave on flatland, making the trekking somehow moderate even though it could be long. We will spend some time in the vicinity of the Western Lowland Gorillas before trekking back to the camp in the early afternoon. An option to fill up our day will be to visit other sections of Campo Ma’an and the related highlights. Overnight in tents.
Day 06 :
Campo Ma’an – Kribi – Douala – Return flight
Pack your tent this morning and depart from the camp to the harbor in readiness of the 1h water transfer to Campo pier, then bord your private car for the 8-9h voyage to Douala which you will attend in the late afternoon. We will drop you at the airport or at your accommodation site if your departure time is the next day. Our assistance ends here this day.
