Gabon

My Gabon travel summary:

Visited: March 2024

Duration of visit: 9 days

Capital city: Libreville

Population: 2.50 million (2024)

Gabon travel blog reading time: 15 minutes

• Organized, expensive and unattractive capital Libreville.
• Sensational beaches on paradise island Point Denis.
• Comfortable, but slow train ride from Libreville to Lope.
• Last minute decision to avoid a visit to Lope National Park.
• Uninspiring economical capital Port Gentil, where the wealth from crude oil extraction is not visible.
• The incredible legacy of Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné.

Crossed by the Equator line and squeezed between Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo and the Atlantic Ocean, Gabon has a population of only two million people.

Forests cover nearly 90% of the country, and 11.25% of its land is protected as national parks.

Famous for large population of gorillas, rich with oil reserves and rather expensive to visit, I was very cautious with my expectations before travelling.

My first intent to visit Gabon, in 2022, was unsuccessful. I applied for online visa, but couldn’t provide local invitation letters, therefore the authorities rejected my application. In 2024, the eVisa system was not reliable and I applied for a tourist visa directly at the embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

“The border with Cameroon is closed. I can issue you a tourist visa only if you enter through Libreville airport,” a friendly embassy official told me.

Since the situation with Equatorial Guinea was even worse, as they were not issuing visas at all, I immediately changed my plans and decided to fly to Gabon. My visa was issued the next day without many questions. The price was 110.00USD.

“Where is your hotel reservation? Show me the print out!” was the first question from a serious immigration officer at Libreville airport, checking documents before we even reached the counter.

I showed him my Airbnb reservation on the phone, but it didn’t make him happy. His colleague directed me to a nearby bench to wait for further investigation. Fifteen minutes later, a large lady registered my documents, reservations, phone number and stamped my passport: “Bienvenue au Gabon!”

Country number 146 for me.

Gabon should be one of the richest countries in the world, not only in Africa. Small population, huge oil resources, dense tropical forests and rather nonviolent history, are the main reasons for my predisposition.

In Libreville, I saw much better infrastructure than in neighboring Cameroon.

Prices are higher, shopping is more formal in real supermarkets, and even well-known French grocery chains are present.

Food options are wide, from local and international restaurants to fast food and street vendors, with high quality for African standards. I didn’t find any real landmarks, exciting places to visit or historical monuments that would be worth visiting.

The capital city stretches along the Atlantic coast with some decent beaches and bays near downtown, where fishing boats are docked.  Traffic is fairly well-organized, with neither buses nor motorbikes.

The most beautiful part of Libreville is a coastal area along the main highway from the airport to the city center. Although the sea is murky and low tide brings garbage onto the sandy beach from the enclosed estuary, the atmosphere and weekend crowd are enjoyable.

The Port Molé project, featuring recreational areas, walking paths, restaurants, sports grounds, and shops, has succeeded worldwide. I haven’t seen a similar development anywhere in Africa yet.

A modern skate park, multipurpose training area, dance performances, and children’s playgrounds are new facilities improving the quality of life.

My original plan was to travel counterclockwise around Gabon. First stop would be the second biggest city in the country, Port Gentil. I was shocked to learn that a three-hour ferry trip to Port Gentil costs 60.00USD. It is true that the luxury of a high-end, fast catamaran is not cheap, but I wanted to check other options.

I took a taxi to Gare Routier, the central bus station, the best-known area for pickpockets in Libreville. It wasn’t my first time walking in red zones, but I felt uncomfortable with groups of men shouting aggressively behind me.

Soon, my suspicion that there is no overland transport to Port Gentil, was confirmed. I quickly took a taxi to leave the market area and avoid trouble.

One of the things that I enjoyed a lot in Gabon was the local food. Gabonese cuisine reflects the cultural and ethnic diversity of the people. Rich and varied culinary heritage is based on locally produced vegetables: plantains, cassava, eggplants, peppers and cabbage. I noticed that all kinds of meat are available and surprisingly popular bush meat is highly appreciated.

What made me very happy is the presence of fish in all forms and a wide variety all around the country. From smoked to dry or fresh fish, caught in rivers or sea, fish dishes are popular and accessible.

A neglected path through a red zone of semi-abandoned houses led me to the daily fish landing area, CAPAL, where fishermen unload fresh fish. Fish vendors had only a dozen stands open in the early afternoon, but the restaurant area was busy. In the covered area with approximately 30 dining tables, fish delicacies were served in a very informal setting.

Locals surrounded me, enjoying food, chatting, and drinking mostly imported Portuguese wine.

I ordered delicious Captain’s Broth (Bouillon de Capitaine), freshly made fish soup, savored with lemon and chili, accompanied by cassava.

The most popular cassava dish is chikwangue or bobolo, a fermented cassava wrapped in green marantaceae leaves. It is my favorite dish in Gabon, beside okra sauce of sticky texture, combined with smoked fish.

The best activity around Libreville is visiting the beautiful beaches at Point Denis, located on the island off the mainland.

A 30-minute boat ride took me to a paradise island with white sand, calm clear waters, and kilometers of empty beaches.

Lodges and resorts are scattered around the island. They cater to wealthy tourists willing to pay high prices for lodging, food, drinks, and water sports activities.

It was Saturday, but the island was practically empty. I walked along the beach, found shade under the trees, and settled there for the day. I was well prepared with enough water, a tasty sardine and avocado sandwich, and leftover palak paneer from the day before.

Swimming, rafting on the wavew, beach walks, and relaxing were my favorite things to do on the island. While engrossed in navigating on the mobile phone, I was surprised by an elegant green snake that approached me less than two meters away. When our eyes met, the snake quickly crawled past me into the forest and disappeared without a trace.

I felt more cautious for the rest of the afternoon, carefully watching where I walked and what I touched.

The ride from Libreville to Lopé National Park is a legendary journey best done by train, avoiding unpredictable bush taxis and long waits in dull towns.

Officially, the railway company had no first-class tickets left, but the counter vendor at Gare d’Owendo offered to check with his boss for a solution:

“It will take only five minutes. I need to talk to my boss. Please wait!”

With plenty of time and no plans, I was happy to wait and see if the boss could save my afternoon trip.

“It is your lucky day. We found one ticket only for you!”

I paid the standard price for the last seat, and they didn’t add any commission.

An hour before departure, I returned to Owendo station, where numerous railway, police, and security inspectors worked diligently at inefficient checkpoints.

The kick off was in the Swiss style. I could adjust my watch to the moment when a long train slowly started to move at 3:00pm. There were hardly any passengers in my wagon, the AC converted the area to a freezer.

All kinds of employees kept walking up and down—some checked my tickets, while others simply saluted without any purpose. The average travelling speed on the section between Libreville and Ndolé didn’t exceed 45 kilometers per hour. Constant stops were reducing the pace, while noisy screeching disturbed my intention to sleep.

The train sped up in the final section to Lopé, arriving at my destination just a few minutes after midnight.

290 kilometers from Libreville to Lopé took us nine hours at the average speed of 32 kilometers per hour. According to statistics, it is still faster than public road transport.

My perception about developed or rich Gabon started to change.

While in Libreville, I arranged a two-day visit to Lopé National Park. The guide was supposed to contact me during the train ride with instructions and final details. It never happened.

Tired and in a bad mood at Lopé station, I finally found the guide and asked why she never contacted me.

“No internet on the train. I meet you at the station anyway!” was the answer in broken English.

This was the top of the iceberg, showing how serious tourist workers really were in Gabon.

Requiring more details about the activities for the next two days, I didn’t receive the input I wanted.

“We will start tomorrow from 7:00 to 8:00am and I will provide you more details!” the guide explained to me in French, since she didn’t understand a single word in English.

Another broken promise – the guide was supposed to be fluent in English.

Suddenly, the hotel owner appeared, as we had agreed he would meet me at the station upon arrival, after midnight.

The wooden barrack was extremely basic and didn’t reflect hotel standards. I was so tired I appreciated the clean, mosquito-netted bed. There was no shower.

A huge tank of water was useless, since a bucket to pour water out in smaller quantity was not provided.

“No worries, I am tired, I just want to sleep! But bring a bucket in the morning to take a shower!” were my last instructions to the manager, before falling asleep.

The next morning, I woke up at 7:00am and walked around the village to find a place for breakfast. Lopé is a conglomeration of rundown wooden houses without any order and planning. A few basic shops, a neglected restaurant, and another guesthouse hardly justify the reputation of this popular national park.

Animal watching here is supposed to be a highlight of any trip to the country. One of the only few parks in Africa where visitors can spot mandrills, gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants.

I met a well-informed American backpacker who explained me that there is no chance to see mandrills at the moment. Rangers haven’t habituated the gorillas here, and since I had already seen them in Cameroon and the CAR, my doubts about Lopé NP visit increased. After finding out that the guide couldn’t explain the exact itinerary, nor activities that would lead me to great wild animal observation, I canceled the excursion.

The rest of the day, I wandered around the dull, remote village and visited the National Park headquarters. A bored ranger showed no interest in opening the museum or suggesting popular things to do. Instead he offered me the mountain climb and expensive afternoon jeep safari without any enthusiasm.

I wasn’t buying it!

Having seen so many animals in Africa, I knew it would be a waste of money and disappointing. I decided to move on and started looking for transport west to Ndjole and Lambaréné.

There’s no public transport or shared taxis in Lopé, and finding a ride west is harder than I imagined. The cabins of passing trucks were usually full with drivers and assistants, or charged a ridiculous amount for a ride.

My only hope was a mechanic who was repairing a broken truck parked along the main road. He promised me a ride in his Toyota pickup truck, once finished the job at 11:00am.

I arrived at the meeting point on time, but the mechanic needed two more hours to assemble the engine. Meanwhile, I had lunch, surprisingly tasty considering the poor condition of the neglected restaurant.

When the reparation was done and all the goods loaded to the pickup truck, the rear door couldn’t close. We needed another 45 minutes to fix it. Then the mechanic ate lunch, took a shower, and packed up his things. It was 3:00pm, when we finally left Lopé.

After an hour drive, we encountered a heavy freight vehicle parked on the side of the dirt road. We stopped and the reparation began. Over the next two hours, the mechanic replaced the axle and wheel cover with heavy bolts and installed a spare wheel at the front.

The road was one of the worst I’d encountered in Central Africa; solid but full of holes and sharp stones. Slow trucks occupied the best part of the road, kicking up dust and making it nearly impossible to pass.

108 kilometers and 10 hours after the official departure time, we arrived to Ndjole at 9:00pm. I was tired, hungry and decided to spend a night in town.

A grilled fish and cold drink restored my energy after a day of waiting, sitting, and hiding from heat and dust. A typical day in Africa.

Lambaréné would probably be an unknown village in the middle of nowhere if it hadn’t been put on the map by the unique legacy of German missionary, theologian, organist, humanitarian and doctor, Albert Schweitzer.

As a young missionary, he opened a hospital there in 1913, providing essential healthcare to the region. Over decades, it expanded into five leading facilities in Africa studying and treating malaria.

With the money from his Nobel Peace Prize, he established a leprosarium in Lambaréné. Schweitzer kept working in the hospital until his death in 1965.

Schweitzer’s legacy of being a multipurpose man who managed to balance between art, science, Europe, Africa, passion and work, is amazing.

I visited the hospital, a museum and his grave on the banks of the Ogooué River. The museum presents his impressive life in a simple way and displays several personal objects from his life. Many documents show how important and internationally respected he was.

The best evidence may be letters from Albert Einstein and a personal birthday card from President Eisenhower. He also became an honorary member of the Order of Merit awarded by Queen Elizabeth II.

The town center of Lambaréné is nothing special. It was really hot in the early afternoon when I walked down to the river bank. Hundreds of salted fish were laid out on wooden racks, drying under the hot sun.

I stopped for le soupe de capitaine, a delicious fish soup with manioc, before resting at my guesthouse to escape the heat. The street stalls were offering a wide variety of dry fish. Alcoholic drinks were limited, as most stores were run by Muslims.

There were no other places to visit or exciting things to do in the town.

I continued my Gabon travel adventure from Lambaréné by boat on the Ogooue River to Point Gentil.

There were two passenger classes: a cramped lower deck with limited views and an upper deck with AC, more space, and better views. I chose the cheaper option and hoped to sneak upstairs later for a better view of the surrounding nature. Soon after departure, I joined a group on the upper deck who were deep in conversation and already drinking beer. They were friendly, talkative and attentive to me.

The fast boat stopped at several villages to pick up passengers, while the captain shared facts about the river. I spotted hippos along the way. It was a pleasant navigation along the clean river, surrounded by intact tropical forest.

I was able to talk partly in English to locals in Gabon for the first time.

Port Gentil, Gabon’s second-largest city, is an economic and commercial hub developed largely from the petroleum industry.

From a visitor’s perspective there are no attractions or landmarks, beside the beach on the outskirts of the city. Since I only had one day and night in Port Gentil, I skipped the beach, planning better swimming opportunities later.

I found the city sprawling, lacking a central point, historical sites, museums, notable buildings, or vibrant markets.

Claimed as Gabon’s oil capital, I expected more development, but Port Gentil’s neglected and conformist vibe didn’t impress me.

Perhaps Port Gentil’s potential hasn’t been fully developed because it lacks road connections to the rest of the country. Travelling by air, river or sea is expensive, logistically complicated and slow.

I left Port Gentil in the same way as I arrived there – by water. The only change was the ocean instead of the river. This time I travelled on a speed ferry to Libreville. A four-hour luxury trip in an air-conditioned cabin is pricey. Yet it’s still far cheaper than a 30-minute flight, which costs twice as much as any low-cost airline flight in Europe.

One more proof how expensive Gabon is. Especially considering the quality of service that is received.

Gabon was never high on my priority list and, after visiting it, I am even more disappointed with what it has to offer.

Gabon is expensive, lacks historic or contemporary landmarks, and has overrated natural attractions, and undeveloped outside Libreville. It seems to have far better tourist promotion than its neighboring countries.

Having wild animals in protected national parks doesn’t guarantee that you can easily see them. Besides, they are not financially accessible to most visitors.

The first unwelcome reception at the airport and constant control of my passport during my Gabon travel journey were not very intrusive. However, I was never really relaxed, when taking photos or meeting authorities. A couple of times they warned me to avoid taking photos of absolutely innocent scenes.

If Gabon has one of the best policies to protect the tropical forest, this fact should be under scrutiny from what I was able to notice.

Hundreds of trucks carry wood from eastern Gabon to Libreville’s port, destroying vast areas of pristine forest sold to foreign corporations for exploitation. International companies transport most of the logs in cargo containers, which means workers cut the logs beforehand and hide them from public view.