Lastoursville or Mandji is a city in east-central Gabon, lying on the Ogooué River, the Trans-Gabon Railway, and the N3 road. It was founded as a slave depot named Mandji, renamed Maadiville in 1883, and finally took its current name for François Rigail de Lastours in 1886. It grew around palm oil production and as an administrative centre, and soon became a major missionary centre. The town is also known for its caves. First up are nature hikes out to Boundji Waterfalls – beautiful and serene.
Occupying a 90-sq-km site, there are more than 40 caves identified, located in the dense primary rainforest close to town. Traces of human activity dates back 7000 years when the caves were used in rituals. Bats by the thousands, mysterious human remain underground rooms, astonishing geology, rivers: the many cavities contain a heritage of great wealth. The first mention of the Lastoursville caves dates back 80 years. The geologist Choubert uses it to make a local geological section. In 1957, Swiss biologist Pierre Strinati explored two caves in Lastoursville. Bouleau then Baud in the 1960s also noted the presence of cavities, but it was in the 1970s that the first systematic work was undertaken. Gérard Delorme, a French geologist working for COMILOG, describes these caves for the first time in a landmark article.
The caves of Lastoursville (sometimes Lastourville) were formed within karst massifs, in Precambrian dolomitic rocks two billion years old. They are the result of a natural phenomenon of erosion and hydraulic dissolution of rocks produced over millions of years.
The caves of Lastoursville deserve to be highlighted to consider a future major tourist site in Gabon.
The caves were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 20, 2005, in the Mixed (Cultural + Natural) category. So, thrilling adventure your visit is must for here where you can discover lots of natural things and can also see the various species of wildlife here.
