Not so many companies will let you self drive their vehicles in Congo. In fact even if you happen to get one that can let you self drive in Congo, please don’t dare do that because that will be risking your life to the fullest. Congo is found in the Central part of Africa and it is bordered by countries like Uganda and Burundi. This is the reason why it shares the Virunga forest with Uganda.

Congo is typically a third world country since it is totally difficult to spot any good maintained road and this is worsened in the rainy season when movement in this country is next to impossibility. Congo also boasts of Mountain gorillas that keep on roaming from Uganda through Rwanda to Congo by virtual of the fact that all these three countries share this great forest of Virunga ranges. Gorilla trekking in Congo is one of the best tourist attractions that fetch a lot of foreign exchange to the government treasury and this activity takes place in the parc des volcanoes national park.

This park is in Congo DRC and two of the gorilla troops are habituated to be visited by visitors. In 1990s, the parc des Virungas was the most popular of all the gorilla reserves, not the least because at times it was one open to tourism. After some time, it was closed due to war and un certainties.

After the country became a little bit stable, the park was re opened for tourism and many tour operators are doing their gorilla tracking in this park. This park is visited by few visitors compared to Uganda’s Bwindi and Rwanda’s volcano national park.. The most likely reason is that the parc des Virungas is a gorilla reserve most visited by overland trucks and also that you go for gorilla trekking in this country on two options either to see the gorillas or to miss them since they keep on wandering from one place to another in that vast forest.

As if self driving is not a night mere enough, even just traveling to this country is not really advisable and always first consult those on the ground to give you a thorough security report.

When you must drive in Congo, always have an international driving permit. Outside Kinshasa and other main cities, most roads are barely drivable even with a 4×4, especially during the rainy season. In DRC as is commonly referred to as, vehicle theft and car-jacking are a regular occurrence. You should drive with the doors of your vehicle locked and windows closed at all times.

You will always encounter security forces operating roadblocks, particularly after dark. If you are asked to produce documents for inspection at a check point, remain in your vehicle and show them through closed windows. Even if you locate a company who will let you self drive, it’s really not advisable.

There are a few car hiring companies that operate from within the capital city-Kinshasha and all of them seem to be foreign international companies like Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Alamo.However,all these companies presently do not give out cars on self drive basis unless with a driver.