Salonga is the largest tropical rainforest reserve in Africa, covering about thirty-six thousand square kilometres of the Congo basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in two big blocks separated by a corridor of villages and farmland. UNESCO listed the park in 1984, and it has spent years on the list of World Heritage in Danger.
The star of the park is the bonobo, a close cousin of the chimpanzee found only south of the Congo River, and known for its matriarchal and peaceful society. Salonga also shelters forest elephants, the Congo peafowl, red colobus monkeys, and several kinds of crocodile. Walking in this forest means damp air, constant sound, huge buttressed trees and a deep green gloom. The ground is often wet, and the rivers are the real roads.
It would be dishonest to talk about a motorcycle route here. There are no through roads in the park and almost no roads near it, and travel is by river canoe, on foot, and by the occasional boat from Kinshasa. The region has seen conflict, and poaching has hit wildlife hard, so access depends on conservation groups and permits. Anyone planning a visit should arrange it with the park authority and an experienced operator, and check the security situation first.
If you do go, expect to be far from fuel, hospitals and phone coverage. The dry months, roughly June to August and December to February, are the easiest for travel, but the forest is wet at any time. Pack for heat, humidity and insects, carry water treatment, and be ready for long days of slow progress. What the place offers is something rare in the modern world, a forest so big that you can spend days without seeing another human being.