Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary

Highly recommend: fresh air, beautiful nature, knowledgeable guide, fascinating animals

Good place to visit the sanctuary, You can feel how the life of Human beings would be and evolved from the stage if nothing to something. 90% of the Bonobo has similarities with human beings. The more interesting thing is that the female bonbo is the leader, they will lead the group. A great experience is that a female BONOBO doesn't like the male human beings and it throws sand and stone on male human beings when you see them. They sit like humans, they eat like humans and the anatomy of human beings and Bonobos are the same. When visiting the sanctuary avoid when it rains.

A must see in Kinshasa. They have preservers around 100 bonobos here in a great natural habitat. They guides are really knowledgeable and friendly. There is a small shop to buy a coke or drink and some souvenirs. They have a nursery for baby bonobos who are abandoned and have lost their mothers. The road to the sanctuary is nice ( not so much different than roads in the DRC). The ticket is $10 for tourists.

It's always interesting to learn new things like knowing that bonobos are one of our closest genetic relatives, along with chimpanzees. We share about 98% of our genetic heritage with chimpanzees and about 95% with bonobos. This means that we have significant genetic similarities with these primates, which may explain some of our behavioral and physiological similarities.

Very informative. Be prepared for over 2 hours of walking and multiple steps. They actually open at 11:30 though we went based on the time advertised here and had to wait.

Dissapointed. I traveled all the way to DRC, paid for a visa, flights, hotel, transport, and even hired a tour guide (spending over $1,000) only to visit Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary and film a short documentary about their work. They agreed to this in advance if I paid for the VIP experience (which I did). That’s the only reason I went ahead with the trip. But just one day before my visit, they suddenly told me: “You can’t make videos here, it’s not allowed.” No explanation, no alternatives. My entire plan, and the purpose of my visit, went to waste. In the end, I spent a lot of money and time for nothing. Their only response after all this was: “I’m sorry, thanks.” This was not professional. If you’re considering a visit, double-check your expectations in advance, because filming is apparently not allowed.

Great to see the apes and the excellent conservation work being done. We had a good guided tour. Highly recommended.

Greatest experience in Kinshasa! Definetely worth the visit, it is a must not only for Nature lovers and Animal curious, but for every single human veibg, to understand the amazing effort done here by all the Staff and Mrs André, as well as the importance of nature conservancy all over the World. It waa a very powerful afternoon!