Several Bagyéli (often called Pygmy) communities live in the forest along the upper Lobé River, a short pirogue ride inland from the falls. The Bagyéli are hunter-gatherers whose ancestors were here long before Bantu peoples reached the coast, and a handful of the villages now host visitors as a way of earning income outside the forest economy.
Trips are typically arranged through guides in Kribi or through the boatmen who work the falls. A half-day visit usually includes a walk in the forest with hunters who explain plant uses, traps, and hunting techniques, and a short demonstration of music and dance. The encounter is unavoidably staged to some degree, but the forest knowledge on display is real, and the visit funds communities that face increasing pressure from logging and plantation agriculture.