After breakfast at the hotel in Pointe-Noire (Hotel Saint Jean), we drove up north for about an hour to the magnificent Salt Glacier of Makola.
Makola Salt Glacier (Glacier de sel de Makola)
A remnant of the now-defunct Congo Potassium Company, the area was previously used for potash mining and after an accident the caused the mine to explode and the groundwater to flood the area, the mining was stopped in 1977.
This groundwater was full of minerals and salt, which eventually dried up causing this glacier of salt rising to yellow and crimson-red hills.
From the Glacier, we drove up north for an hour to reach the Porte du Mayombe. The roads twisting through the Mayombe forest leads to a “gate”, which is an inlet of river between two massive rocks that, legends say, used to open at dawn and close at dusk. Although the rock on the left side was destroyed in an earthquake, the “gate” is still known to operate!
Dimonika Biosphere
About 1.5 hours drive from Porte du Mayombe, we reached the village of Dimonika, the was created due to the rampant mining of the area early in the 1940s. The area is renowned for being exploited for gold since this time and almost every inch has been extensively mined for gold since then, especially within a 6 km radius which was said to have been the “gold”en area.
Today, the village is in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve created to protect over 1300 square kms of pristine rainforest and savannah. The Vigoureux hostel offers a great stay for travelers interested in volunteering work in the village.
It is also a great base to walk around the biosphere and visit some of the local gold mining that still occurs.
We walked back for about 45 minutes from the gold mining area to Vigoureux hostel, had afternoon coffee before heading out to the nearest town of Dolisie, arriving late in the evening to KM hotel.
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Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = XAF 585 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult. Note that the expenses do not include international flights to and from Congo-Brazzaville.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| None | $0.00 | No additional costs for the day. |
| Day Costs | $0.00 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $4,398.81 | Per person |
Day 2
Makola Salt Glacier, Dimonika Biosphere
Visit the Salt Glacier of Makola, Dimonika biosphere for gold mining.
Day 3 – NEXT »
Dolisie, Monts de la Lune, Le Rivière Bleue
City tour of Dolisie, visit moon mountain and the blue river.
#Africa #Congo-Brazzaville #Dimonika #Itinerary #MakolaSaltGlacier #Pointe-Noire #RepublicofCongo #TripReport
