Trekking with gorillas in the warm heart of Africa

Tell someone you’re planning a trip to the Republic of the Congo and you will get two reactions. The first is a respectful look, of the kind usually reserved for truly intrepid adventurers. The second is a question: “Is it safe?”

The trick is to answer the second response without losing the kudos that inspired the first, because in truth it’s the other Congo, the Democratic Republic, that has soured the name of central Africa. After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants...