Gabon is not a greatest-hits destination with a neat checklist of sights. It is a place of vast, quiet wilderness where the highlights are experiences rather than monuments. Here is what makes the trip worthwhile.
Loango National Park is the star attraction. Often called Africa's last Eden, this is one of the only places on earth where rainforest meets the Atlantic Ocean and large wildlife roams the beaches. Forest elephants, hippos, and buffalo are regularly seen on the sand, and humpback whales pass offshore from July to September. Getting there requires a bush flight or a long boat journey, but the payoff is otherworldly.
Ivindo National Park in the country's interior is home to the spectacular Kongou Falls, among the most powerful waterfalls in Central Africa. The park's Langoue Bai, a large marshy clearing deep in the forest, draws forest elephants, gorillas, and sitatungas. Reaching it involves a multi-day expedition, but serious wildlife enthusiasts consider it one of the greatest animal spectacles in Africa.
Lope National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, combines ancient savanna with dense rainforest and is the best place in the world to see mandrills in large troops, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. The Trans-Gabon railway stops here, making it the most accessible of the major parks.
Lambarene and the lakes offer a different pace. The town itself is modest, but the surrounding network of lakes and rivers can be explored by pirogue. The Albert Schweitzer Hospital, now a museum, is a fascinating piece of colonial medical history.
Libreville's Marche du Mont-Bouet is one of West and Central Africa's great markets -- chaotic, colorful, and sprawling, with everything from smoked fish to traditional medicines. It is the best window into everyday Gabonese life.
Turtle nesting at Mayumba draws the world's largest concentration of nesting leatherback turtles between November and January. Watching a two-meter turtle haul herself up the beach to lay eggs by torchlight is an unforgettable experience.