The Lobaye River flows through the prefecture, draining the forested hills south of M'Baïki before joining the Ubangi on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The river and its tributaries pass through dense equatorial forest, and the waterways are central to local life — used for fishing, transport, and trade.
For travellers, the river offers a different perspective on the landscape than the main road. Dugout canoes can sometimes be arranged for short stretches, and the birdlife along the forested banks is excellent. The Lobaye basin sits within the larger Congo Basin forest ecosystem, one of the world's most biodiverse environments and the second-largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon.