Beni Tourist Places to Visit in Beni, North Kivu, Congo, Central Africa, Africa

Beni Tourist Places to Visit in Beni, North Kivu, Congo, Central Africa, Africa

Beni is a city belonging to the North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, located on the tip of the Ituri Forest, between 0°30′ N latitude and 29°28′ E longitude. It is the gateway to two prominent natural tourist destinations, the Virunga National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains. The city of Beni is made up of four communes, Beni, Bungulu, Muhekera and Ruwenzori. Beni was one of the locations of DRC seeing the ferocious fighting during the Second Congo War (2001).

Beni relatively has all the basic facilities, including a traditional market and some modern amenities in the city include an airport and a university, named the Christian Bilingual University of Congo.

Connectivity to Beni:

Beni hosts an airport with scheduled flight services from Bukavu, Bunia, Goma, Isiro, Kalemie, Kisangani and Lubumbashi, served by Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation. The airport is situated around 14 km north of the midpoint of the city of Beni. Taxis are generally available at the airport or visitors can use rental car for more comfort airport travel.

Like most cities in DRC, bus connectivity from Beni to its nearby is not upgraded. So tourists are suggested to hire rental car for intercity travel.

Food and Shopping in Beni:

The cuisine of Beni reflects the diversity of different kind of communities living in the region, who are fond of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, manly like fish and dishes prepared from Cassava. Beni Market is a known option for shopping in Beni.

Things to do in Beni:

Visiting market and university
Walking
Bike riding

Tourist Attractions in Beni:

Christian Bilingual University of Congo:

The Christian Bilingual University of Congo is one of the identities of Beni, offering nearly all latest science and arts courses for Congolese students. Founded in 2006, the Christian Bilingual University of Congo is also a perfect place to get an awareness of Congolese culture, history and tradition.

Beni Market:

The Beni Market is a genuine Congolese traditional market, where products like locally produced food pockets, clothes, art and craft works affordable and worth a money. Keep in mind that no credit card facility there, so don’t visit the market without a local currency.

Okapi Wildlife Reserve:

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is one of the noted tourist attractions of DRC, connected to Beni by direct road link. It is a World Heritage Site situated in the Ituri Forest, sprawling over an area of 14,000 km². Established in 1992, the reserve is a preservation site of around 5,000 okapi, 2,000 leopards, 4,000 elephants and a substantial number of crocodiles and chimpanzees. It can be explored best through a guided tour.

List of other places of interest in and around Beni include:

Beni Airport
Maiko National Park
Lake Edward
Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Garamba National Park
Mount Nyiragongo
Boyoma Falls
Virunga National Park
Livingstone Falls
Lola ya Bonobo
Maiko National Park
Jardin d’Eden
Salonga National Park

Best time to visit Beni:

Probably between the months of June and September is the ideal time to visit Beni in DRC when the city remains dry and supportive for outdoor activities.

Hotels in and around Beni:

Hotels are less in number in Beni, limited to traditional options. Hotel Bunia and L’Hotel Karibuni are hotels in Bunia, around 200 km from Beni. For more options, visitors can consider the national capital Kinshasa’s hotels that are as follows: