What any visitor to Congo would most enjoy – if and when he can reach beyond the all-encompassing battle weariness are the beautiful beaches, the laid back ambience and the friendly natures of the people of the Congo.
The capital, Brazzaville lies on the west bank of the River Congo - it is an interesting place, verdant and colourful with the remnants of colonial architecture giving it a European rather than African feel.
Amongst the most impressive buildings are the Basilique St Anne, the Temple Mosque, the National Museum and the imposing edifice of the mansion built for Charles de Gaulle when Brazzaville did duty as the capital of Free France during the Nazi occupation of France in the World War II.
The outer suburbs of Poto-Poto makes for an interesting sojourn, as does a trip down the Congo River Rapids (10km), Loufoulakari Falls and the Trou de Dieu – all of which offer splendid panoramas of natural beauty.The best place to see animals in their native habitats in the Congo is at the Parc Nationale de Odzala.
The terrain in the park consists mostly of vast tracts of virgin forests that house an abundance of wildlife, several pygmy villages and tribes that have managed to preserve their traditional socio-cultural traditions. The wildlife to look out for includes African elephants, Bongo (forest antelope), mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
Pointe-Noire is, of course, the holiday capital of the Congo – its justly famed for its beautiful beaches and clear waters along the coastal belt known as the Côte Sauvage. The beaches are amongst the best in the region, untouched, unspoilt and happily under populated. Pointe-Noire comes alive in the evening when crowds throng the brilliantly vibrant evening market. Excursions along the coast would include a trip to see the seamier side of African and European interaction in the early years when slave traders used the coastal village of Loango as the main embarkation point for over two million Africans forcibly captured and sold into slavery. The Gorges of Diosso make another great sight seeing expedition as the spectacular cliffs formed by the erosion of the sea and the wind is really quite something.