The Democratic Republic of Congo also known as DR Congo or DRC is a country located in Central Africa.

It is the second largest country on the African Continent and is bordered by nine countries.

It borders the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; the Republic of the Congo to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the south-west.

It covers a land area of 2,345,409 km²   with 4.3% being water. Carpeted by huge swathes of rain forest and punctuated by gushing rivers, smoking volcanoes and the Congo gorilla safaris, DRC is the ultimate African adventure.

Formerly known as Belgian Congo and Zaire, the DRC was formerly under the control of Belgium. Before being named Belgian Congo, it was known as the Congo Free State and was the personal property of King Leopold who had acquired it as a result of the Berlin Conference.

In 1908, the Belgian parliament bowed to international pressure and took control of the Congo Free State. It also participated  in the world wars and was rewarded with part of the territory of German East Africa.

30^th June 2016 delivered independence for the Democratic Republic of Congo with Patrice Lumumba as its first democratically elected prime minister.

The parliament later elected Joseph Kasavubu as president. It wasn’t long however that turmoil and instability started to gut country.

Joseph Mobuto who was chief of staff of the army, with forces loyal to him arrested and took over power in 1961. In 1997, Mobuto was also overthrown by Laurent-Désiré Kabila who had help from forces from Rwanda and the Congo.

Kabila was assassinated in 2001. His son Joseph Kabila succeeded him and called for multilateral peace-talks.

UN peacekeepers moved into the country in 2001 to try to bring peace back in the nation. Kabila’s reign at the helm has not been easy with various protests calling for his resignation.

But after decades of long decline in which much of the country descended into anarchy, Africa’s second-largest nation is, by and large, headed in the right direction.

It still has a long way to go but new roads, enormous untapped mineral wealth and the world’s largest UN peacekeeping force have bred optimism among its tormented but resilient population.

There is absolutely nothing neither soft nor easy about it but for an African immersion you’ll never forget a Congo Safari place to be.