MICHAEL NICHOLS / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Just below the bulge of West Africa lies the small, equatorial country of Gabon. Hailed as the last Eden, Gabon offers a paradise almost untouched by civilization, with pristine forests covering more than 80 percent of the country.

The preservation of this paradise has been intentional — a feat made possible by dedicated international conservationists and the Gabonese government, spearheaded by Gabon’s former president himself.

In 2002, President Omar Bongo Ondimba created 13 national parks, which encompass nearly 11 percent of Gabon’s total land mass — making the country second only to Costa Rica in percentage of preserved land. His groundbreaking decision was prompted in part by conservationist Dr. Michael Fay’s famous 1999 Megatransect — a 3,219-kilometer (2,000-mile) hike to the Gabonese coast.

Fay’s 455-day journey had revealed a depth of virgin forest, undiscovered grasslands, and rare plant and animal life that could only exist in a preserved environment. He promptly presented his findings to Ondimba, and just a few years later, Ondimba terminated more than US$20 million in logging concessions, created the parks, and announced the cessation of environmentally damaging logging and hunting practices.

These efforts created a vision that continues today through Ondimba’s son and successor, Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Indeed, 11 years later, the value of preservation remains clear. “An excursion in a national park [is] truly wild and humbling,” says Heather Arrowood, who serves as a technical advisor for Organisation Ecotouristique du Lac Oguemoué, one of many organizations creating sustainable ecotourism in Gabon. Arrowood also serves as a guide with the Tsam Tsam Village project, a nonprofit that replaces local hunting income with ecotourism.

“Compared to other tourism destinations,” Arrowood adds, “Gabon still has vast stretches of intact forest with some of the largest remaining populations of Congo Basin forest wildlife, including forest elephants, lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, red river hogs and giant pangolins.”

MICHAEL POLIZA / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Creating access to preserved parks is a delicate task, as roads disrupt the purity of the landscape and ecosystems. Parks like Ivindo employ innovations such as electric-powered mini-jeeps to take visitors to deep forest camps. Once inside, beneath the towering Kongou waterfalls, the difficulties of travel fade. Stretching across 3.2 kilometers, these magnificent falls reach 56 meters at their highest point and are considered among the most stunning in Central Africa.

MICHAEL NICHOLS / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The remote locations and inaccessibility of some of the Gabonese parks may not suit everyone, but for the more intrepid traveler, the mountainous terrain and dense jungles promise adventure. Hikers in Bigourou might encounter the rare sun-tailed monkey, discovered in 1986 and protected in 1994. In Waka, indigenous Bobango tribe members share their intimate knowledge of the forests as ecoguides.

Travelers seeking a cultural experience will find parks like Lopé — Gabon’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site — where gorillas, elephants and chimpanzees roam among the ghosts of human civilizations dating back at least 400,000 years.

In Mwagna Park, visitors can still stand in the Bai Mwagna, a vast, sacred grassland that reverberates the deep, mystical wisdom of the Babango (pygmy).

For closer proximity to Libreville — Gabon’s bustling, oceanside capital — visitors might choose Akanda or Pongara. These parks feature coastal flats, broad beaches, forests and mountains. They are also home to the world’s largest population of leatherback turtles, significant congregations of humpback whales, hippos, manatees, elephants and hundreds of bird species, thus providing opportunities for bird-watching, sport-fishing and forest exploration.

With accommodations ranging from high-end resorts to rustic forest camps, the parks of Gabon offer adventure for the explorer, the passionate naturalist and the curious traveler alike. It is the nation’s hope that through continued preservation, Gabon will remain an environmental haven for generations to come.