Doli Lodge — Hotel in Sangha-Mbaéré

I came to the Doli Lodge with a group from work for two nights. The Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas may be the best place on earth to observe large groups of forest elephants as well as Western lowland gorillas, and the Doli Lodge is an excellent base from which to undertake these excursions. The lodge is operated by Luis and Nuria, who have decades of experience managing African park operations, and it shows. The accommodations may be relatively basic, but they far exceeded my expectations as well as what I experienced in other parks (such as Pendjari in Benin and Zakouma in Chad). The lodge has four buildings with two guest rooms each. The buildings are built on stilts and overlook the Sangha river. The rooms were recently renovated with brand-new Spain-sourced bathroom fixtures and have two beds with mosquito nets. Although relatively basic, the room was far nicer than I expected. Each room has a generous balcony overlooking the river. There is another building in the process of being renovated, that will house the Lodge office and another guest room or two. The restaurant is in a separate building built on stilts at the edge of the river, and features a small bar as well as a lounge area with several sofa seating areas. It is a fantastic area to sit and relax before or after the meal and to watch pirogues going up and down the river. The kitchen is newly renovated in a fully enclosed building with new European style commercial kitchen equipment. The meals provided were far higher quality than I ever would have expected in a location such as this. But, you don’t come to a place like this for the accommodations, you come for the experience. The lodge operators have extensive contacts throughout the community and will arrange all of the excursions for you. The excursions to see the elephants and gorillas were very rugged, and will involve hiking through the rainforest for as much as two hours at a time, including wading shin to knee deep through a portion of a river. You do need to be physically fit enough to handle this to be able to make the most of this trip. Bring sturdy hiking gear including several pairs of shoes. Since this is a rain forest it is very humid and once wet your clothes may not dry before the end of your stay. In addition to seeing the elephants and gorillas, we went to a Ba’aka Pygmy village for an evening of dancing as well as an excursion in a wooden dugout canoe (pirogue) down the...

We stayed 7 days in the Doli Lodge and had an amazing time. Nuria and Luis - the people who run the place - know the area very well and will try everything in their power to ensure you have a great time. They speak English, French and Spanish.||||The rooms of the Lodge are simple, but comfortable. They are basically big wooden huts with a terrace, bathroom, a double bed and an extra one-person bed. The windows have mosquito nets, and there are also mosquito nets on top of the beds. The shower is cold water only - but this is not a problem with it being so hot all the time! Towels and soap are provided, but not shampoo.||||Solar power provides electricity until around 10 pm. The rooms have light and one plug to charge electronic devices. There is free wifi 10 minutes walking from the lodge, but it doesn't always work.||||Food is included in the price and is simple but tasty. We ate local food (such as manioc, "fufu", some type of spinach with peanuts and mushrooms, etc) as well as more international food (such as pasta with meat and rice with fish brochettes). Vegetarians can be accommodated. Breakfast consists of bread, cheese and breakfast meat, omelette, jam, coffee, tea and fruit juice.||||The Lodge can organize activities in the region for you at a reasonable price. We watched 150+ forest elephants eat and bathe themselves in a forest clearing, got to see lowland gorillas in the wild, hunted small animals with the local Ba'aka people (a pygmee tribe), learned about medicinal plants of the rainforest, walked around Bayanga village and were even interviewed on the local radio!||||In summary: this is a great place to discover the culture and wildlife of Central Africa. The Lodge contributes to the preservation of the Dzanga Sangha National Park, its wildlife and biodiversity, and the traditions of the local people who inhabit this region. We would strongly...

We stayed 7 days in the Doli Lodge and had an amazing time. Nuria and Luis - the people who run the place - know the area very well and will try everything in their power to ensure you have a great time. They speak English, French and Spanish.

The rooms of the Lodge are simple, but comfortable. They are basically big wooden huts with a terrace, bathroom, a double bed and an extra one-person bed. The windows have mosquito nets, and there are also mosquito nets on top of the beds. The shower is cold water only - but this is not a problem with it being so hot all the time! Towels and soap are provided, but not shampoo.

Solar power provides electricity until around 10 pm. The rooms have light and one plug to charge electronic devices. There is free wifi 10 minutes walking from the lodge, but it doesn't always work.

Food is included in the price and is simple but tasty. We ate local food (such as manioc, "fufu", some type of spinach with peanuts and mushrooms, etc) as well as more international food (such as pasta with meat and rice with fish brochettes). Vegetarians can be accommodated. Breakfast consists of bread, cheese and breakfast meat, omelette, jam, coffee, tea and fruit juice.

The Lodge can organize activities in the region for you at a reasonable price. We watched 150+ forest elephants eat and bathe themselves in a forest clearing, got to see lowland gorillas in the wild, hunted small animals with the local Ba'aka people (a pygmee tribe), learned about medicinal plants of the rainforest, walked around Bayanga village and were even interviewed on the local radio!

In summary: this is a great place to discover the culture and wildlife of Central Africa. The Lodge contributes to the preservation of the Dzanga Sangha National Park, its wildlife and biodiversity, and the traditions of the local people who inhabit this region. We would strongly...