D.R. Congo

International flight to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Overnight on board.

Upon arrival, we will complete entry formalities, and then the PhotoTravel team will meet you for a private transfer and check-in at our hotel in the city center.
Free time to rest from the journey or take a first stroll around.

Overnight at Hotel A.D.

In Kinshasa’s popular neighborhoods, wrestling is not just a spectacle: it is an act of faith, an ancestral rite. Fetish wrestlers obtain their power from traditional witch doctors, known as ngangas, who live in temple-houses hidden among alleys and concrete blocks.

We will visit one of these sacred temples, where witch doctors consecrate wrestlers with amulets, magical symbols, and voodoo formulas. We can photograph the intimate details of the ritual: anointed bodies, painted faces, prayers, fetishes hanging from the walls… It is a hidden world, charged with energy, mysticism, and theatricality.

After the ceremony, we will accompany the wrestlers in their street procession. They parade through the city like modern warriors: drums, masks, ritual shouts, and a display of popular aesthetics that blends power, comedy, belief, and spectacle.

Finally, we will attend one of Kinshasa’s most anticipated fetish wrestling matches. Also known as “voodoo catch”, this practice mixes wrestling with theatrical choreographies, magical symbols, and scenic provocation. A universe full of contrasts, where the traditional and the urban merge into something unique.

We will have exclusive access to document not only the matches but also everything that happens around them: the atmosphere, the audience, the children imitating their heroes, the sorcerers observing from the shadows.

Overnight at Hotel A.D.

Very early in the morning, before the city fully awakens and traffic paralyzes it, we will head towards Kisantu, about two hours from Kinshasa. Our destination is one of the most enigmatic and little-known places in Congo: the headquarters of the prophet Tata Gonda’s sect.

Deep in the tropical jungle, far from the outside world, live the followers of the deceased prophet, men and women from Congo and Angola who have chosen an austere, monastic, and deeply spiritual life. Their community, which combines elements of Christianity and traditional African religion, is organized in a completely self-sufficient manner: they grow their own food, raise fish, draw water from the river, and dedicate much of the day to prayer and collective work.

If access is granted, we will be able to experience this unique environment, photograph its sacred spaces and way of life, and observe how an autarkic community that has renounced the dynamics of the modern world is structured. A kind of “tropical Franciscans” who fight against the injustice of the world through devotion and renunciation.

After the visit, we will return to Kinshasa. The journey can be long due to the capital’s dense traffic.

In the afternoon, we will immerse ourselves in a completely different proposal: the creative universe of THE KIN ACT, a collective of urban artists from Kinshasa known for their striking costumes made from recycled materials. Their work combines social criticism, popular aesthetics, and performance in public spaces.

We will have the opportunity to attend one of their live interventions and conduct an exclusive photographic session. As night falls, we will enjoy live music in their workshop, a space that vibrates between the artistic, the festive, and the political.

After this intense day, we will return to the hotel for dinner and rest.

Overnight at Hotel A.D.

After breakfast, we will depart early for the Lola ya Bonobo bonobo sanctuary, a space dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of bonobos saved from local markets, where they were destined to be sold as bushmeat. There we will learn more about this species so close to humans and see how local caregivers work to restore a dignified life in a safe environment.

In the early afternoon, we will have the opportunity to attend a performance of the traditional Kuba Kingdom Ceremony, on the outskirts of Kinshasa. This group, led by its traditional chief, keeps the Kuba culture —originally from Mushenge— alive among displaced communities in the capital. For approximately an hour and a half, we will enjoy a repertoire of traditional masked dances, full of symbolism and visual power.

We close the day with an organized photographic session with the Sapeurs, members of the Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes. These ambassadors of street elegance, who live in humble neighborhoods of Kinshasa, make fashion a form of art, pride, and resistance. Their colorful, provocative, and theatrical aesthetic will be the perfect visual culmination to the day.

Before returning to the hotel, we will stop at one of the largest markets for masks and traditional art in Congo, where we can acquire unique and authentic pieces as a souvenir of this cultural experience.

Overnight at Hotel A.D.

After breakfast, we will depart early to avoid the intense traffic jams that often paralyze Kinshasa’s streets. We will begin a long but fascinating road trip towards Kikwit, in the heart of the country.

Along the way, we will delve into the deepest and most authentic Democratic Republic of Congo, passing through villages, rural markets, and everyday scenes that reflect life in its purest form. A perfect transition day to photograph from the road and observe the visual richness of the interior Congo.

Overnight at Hotel A.D.

Arrival at the Kibala community – Initiation rites and ancestral traditions

We depart very early in the morning, around 6:00 AM, and are expected to arrive at our destination by mid-morning.

Upon our arrival, we will meet with the traditional Kibala chief, who will welcome us and introduce us to the program of activities that will take place from this evening until the next day. It will be a privileged immersion in the rites of passage and ceremonial dances that are an essential part of this community’s cultural identity.

Planned activities include:

• Mukanda: initiation rite for young males

• Mungonge: transition from adult man to elder, featuring men with pierced cheeks

• Night Tshiwila: female rite of passage for young women

• Day Tshiwila: traditional women’s dance

• Stilt men: spectacle of balance and skill

• Mbambamba: masked warrior dance

• Minganji: appearance of spirits with power masks

• Mbuya: masks representing social archetypes used in ritual narratives

It will be an intense and deeply photogenic experience, where we will have direct access to ceremonies rarely shown to outsiders.

Overnight at Basic Camp.

During the morning, the traditional artists will dress in their ancestral attire for an exclusive photographic portrait session. It will be a unique opportunity to calmly capture every detail of their clothing, masks, and symbolic gestures, in an intimate and respectful setting.

Travelers and photographers will have access to this experience until midday, at which point we will begin our road trip to Tshikapa.

A transition day through the Congolese savanna, with time to contemplate, photograph, and let the journey flow with the rhythm of the landscape.

Overnight at Basic Camp.

An intense road journey, delving into one of the wildest territories of the D.R. Congo.

Far from being a simple transfer, this journey becomes an experience in itself: we traverse deep jungle landscapes, roads that cut through dense vegetation, and scenes that seem frozen in time.

A demanding journey, yes… but also absolutely spectacular.

Overnight at Basic Camp.

We finally arrive at the authentic Kuba Kingdom.

It is not just another destination on the trip… it is one of Africa’s great cultural milestones. One of the continent’s most sophisticated and fascinating civilizations, where art, social structure, and spirituality form an inseparable whole.

After local formalities, we enter their territory and begin to understand the dimension of this culture: dances, masks, symbols, architecture, and a way of understanding the world that is still alive.

First contact with the Kuba community…
and with one of Africa’s great cultural treasures.

Overnight at Basic Camp.

Full day in the Kuba Kingdom.

Today we experience one of the most powerful moments of the entire trip. We will attend an exceptional ceremony, where Kuba masks, dances, and symbolism unfold with all their force.

Imposing figures, precise movements, rhythms that mark time, and an aesthetic that goes far beyond the visual. It is not just a dance… it is a living representation of their social structure, their history, and their relationship with ancestors.

We will also have the privilege of sharing this moment with the royalty of the Kuba Kingdom, understanding from within the profound meaning of these ceremonies.

Here, art is not contemplated; it is lived.

Overnight at Basic Camp.