Korup: drills, red colobus and the oldest rainforest dawn in Africa
Drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus), Preuss's red colobus, red-capped mangabey, Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, forest elephant; grey-necked rockfowl, hornbills, over 400 bird species. Korup National Park, South-West Region, Cameroon.
Best time: 1 Jan – 31 Mar (January to March). Where: Mana bridge – park entrance, Rengo camp, Mundemba – park visitor office (Cameroon). Time of day: From 40 minutes before sunrise to about 09:30.
- Guide, ranger or boat needed
- Entry fee
- Binoculars helpful
- Sound 5/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 1 Jan – 31 Mar. January to March: the driest months in one of the wettest forests on earth; trails and the Mana bridge are passable and the chorus is at full strength
Active from 1 Dec to 30 Apr (December to April) in a typical year.
Time of day
From 40 minutes before sunrise to about 09:30; primate groups call again in the last hour before dusk; tree hyrax, owls and frogs through the night from camp
- Dawn chorus: 40 min before sunrise → 09:30
- Evening primates: 1 h before sunset → last light
- Night at Rengo: last light → 00:00
What will you hear?
Drill and mangabey troops crashing and grunting through the understorey, red colobus shrieks, chimpanzee pant-hoots at a distance, hornbills, the buzz of cicadas at first light and, from the Rengo camp, a night of tree hyrax and frogs over the Mana river.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. Drills and mangabeys crash through the understorey nearby; binoculars for colobus and hornbills 30 m up.
Where to go
- Mana bridge – park entrance — Suspension footbridge over the Mana river from the Mundemba side; the trail network starts here. Map
- Rengo camp — Basic forest camp about 10 km in; the base for primate walks and the rockfowl rocks. Map
- Mundemba – park visitor office — Permits, guides and porters are arranged here; guesthouses in town. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
A registered guide is compulsory (park rule). Cheapest legal way: bus/shared taxi Kumba–Mundemba, permit, guide and porter at the Mundemba visitor office (+237 677 07 49 09, support@korupnationalpark.org), camp at Rengo with your own tent and food.
Cost: Park permit plus guide and porter per day; amounts not published online — check current prices with the Mundemba office.
Free or no-guide alternative: The forest edge along the Mundemba–Mana road and the Mana river bank at the bridge approach are outside the permit line; the dawn chorus and hornbills are free from there, though the primates are usually deeper in.
Who runs access
- Korup National Park – Mundemba visitor office (park guides) (park authority) — Park-run; the only legal guides
Field-recording notes
All visitors must be accompanied by a registered guide (park rule), arranged with permits and porters at the Mundemba visitor office. Camps are bring-your-own; there is no generator, so nights are clean apart from the river. Rain can fall in any month and the humidity is total: dry bags, silica and a way to dry gear are essential, and capsules will fog every dawn. Rockfowl nesting sites are not to be approached in the breeding season; ask the guide. The South-West Region has been affected by the Anglophone conflict since 2017 — check current travel advice and contact the park office before travelling.
Sources
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More: all spectacles in Cameroon · dawn choruses · Cameroon in January · Cameroon in February · Cameroon in March