When to visit Congo: Visits to Congo can be made at any time of the year. Congo is one of the best places with the most favorable weather and climatic conditions. Lying on the Equator crossing, the D.R. Congo enjoys the conducive tropical weather conditions. For any plans to go Congo safaris, the dry and wet seasons are the 2 key seasons of the year to guide you.
Congo experiences the long and short dry seasons, the long and short wet/rainy seasons each year. The long dry season in Congo is often experienced from the late May, June, July, and August to September. The shortest dry season run from January to February.
Depending on what your travel plans are in D.R. Congo, gorilla trekking adventures or volcano hiking in the Virunga National Park are excellently enjoyed during the 2 dry seasons. It is during such periods when Congo records low or no rains in most parts of the country.
Congo is generally an extensive country with many river systems and varying landscapes which define its contrasting climatic conditions. However, the country experiences more of warm and humid conditions. The Southern side of the Equator, usually the wet season is experiences in October and May.
The North Equator rains occur in April and November. The lower elevation range record average annual temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. On the high altitude, the temperatures are cooler. Temperatures during day also vary and usually hotter with 35 degrees Celsius.
D.R. Congo is also known to record the highest thunderstorms on earth. Some areas record annual rainfall amount of up to 2000mm. At the capital Kinshasa, annual rainfall received is 1400mm. In terms of humidity, it is high countrywide. The country’s climatic conditions are impacted by its geographical location on equator area although the high altitudes also play a big part.
Due to variations in weather and climatic conditions, it isn’t wise to generalize the country and for any plans to visit D.R. Congo, the region and activities you need to engage in should be put into consideration. The Virunga National Park, one of the major areas of interest for most visitors on Congo safaris often records high rains with average of 500mm on the side of Lake Edward and 3000mm along the Western slopes of Mount Rwenzori.
Heavy rains are experienced starting March, April to May then Mid-September, October, November till Mid-December. January is usually a short dry season in D.R. Congo and rainy and low humidity days are fewer. It is one ideal month to enjoy most of the remarkable outdoor safari activities in Congo’s National Parks like Virunga National Park for mountain gorilla trekking or volcano hiking on Nyiragongo. In January, temperatures rise up to 31 degrees Celsius.
D.R. Congo’s geography.
D.R. Congo is the 2nd Africa’s biggest nation and in the world it is the 11th largest. Located right in Central Africa, D.R Congo is bordered by many states including Angola, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and more.
Congo’s climatic/weather conditions are influenced by a number of factors including the Congo River basic, rain-forest, extensive plateaus, montane terraces, grassland. The eastern side of Congo features mountainous landscape and generally, the Albertine rift has had influence on the country’s geology.
D.R. Congo is also a bio diverse country regardless of its history. It is a home to a section of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, bonobos, eastern lowland gorillas, white rhinos, forest elephants to mention but a few. The main areas of interest for gorilla safaris in Congo include Virunga National Park for mountain gorillas, Kahuzi-Biega National Park for eastern lowland gorilla trekking.
