Bangassou is one of the bigger towns in the CAR, but it rarely sees travellers today and its population is slowly packing up and leaving. Until the mid-80s it was the major transit point into the Democratic Republic of the Congo for travellers with their own cars, but the more popular route through Mobaye started to draw travellers, and the government's recent closure of land borders to foreigners hasn't helped either. The ferry operator was difficult to find even when the ferry was working. If you do make it this far, don't miss the market, with all kinds of bush meat including anteater, buffalo, bush pig, gazelle, monkey and warthog. Leopards, lions and elephants sometimes come close to town. Bangassou is a two-day trip by minibus east from Bangui along very rough roads.

This reserve is the newest of the CAR's parks and is in the far southwest corner of the country. It is also possibly the most interesting park, as it contains the last remnants of the CAR's virgin rainforests, and has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas and forest elephants of anywhere in Africa. The lowland gorillas are much less studied than their highland cousins in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are much more timid and spend a lot of their time in trees, so you are unlikely to get close. Also resident in the parks are bongos, crowned eagles, waterbuck, buffalos, warthogs, duiker, chimpanzees and several species of monkeys, including De Brazza's monkey with its distinctive white beard. The park entrance fee of 3000CFA helps protect the rich wildlife and assists local villagers and pygmies to find ways to support themselves without destroying the forest.Within the reserve are two protected areas; Dzanga Park, 12km (7.4mi) from Bayanga, the nearest town, and the less accessible Ndoki Park, about 8km (5mi) south of Lidjombo. The park is not well set up for visitors, so you need to wire ahead from the WWF office in Bangui to advise staff so they'll be prepared. The reserve has a welcome centre in Bayanga, where you pay the entrance fee and make arrangements for your trek. You can walk into either section of the park from Bayanga, but getting to Bayanga without your own 4WD is a major hassle. Bayanga is 525km (325mi) southwest of Bangui via M'Baïki, Boda, Bambio and Nola, all reachable by minibus from Bangui. The last segment poses the most difficulty as there is virtually no road traffic; you may be able to get a boat from Nola to Bayanga.

During the day you can climb the Kaga hill about 3km (1.8mi) from town for good views of the dry country around about. In the evenings the market is lit up by oil lamps and you can get cheap food there, chat with the local people and sample the excellent local snifter, hydromiel, a type of beer made with honey. Grilled meat vendors ply the streets in the gare-routière area, which really hops at night. Kaga Bandoro is 300km (186mi) north of Bangui, and you reach it by minibus.

Neither of these parks is particularly interesting or varied topographically, but that makes for ideal game viewing. The vegetation is mainly woodland savannah, harbouring the 'big four' - elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos - as well as giraffes, buffalos, hippos, monkeys, baboons, cheetahs, crocodiles, warthogs, bushbabies, pelicans (which fly in according to the season) and a wide variety of buck. The population densities of animals here are unfortunately not very high, thanks to the efforts of poachers, who in the past 20 years have killed a mind-numbing number of animals. For example, there used to be 80,000 elephants in the two parks and in surrounding areas, but today their numbers are down to 3000. Mostly the poachers come from Sudan, but it's not unheard of for locals to be involved. Virtually all the visitors who come head for St Floris, where the animal densities are a little higher, and it's the one equipped to receive visitors.The best way to reach the parks is by chartered plane from Bangui, as driving the 800km (496mi) northeast from Bangui usually takes a day and a half in good weather, and that will be on rough roads where you won't be assured of finding petrol.