Ishango

• It was referred to by George Schaller as the most beautiful place in the world for its stunning landscapes.
• As the source of the Semliki River, where the waters of Lake Edward begin to flow down the Albertine Rift into Lake Albert, Ishango is one of the sources of the Nile.
• The Ishango Bone was discovered there in 1960. This fossilised baboon bone, which was dated at 18,000 BC, has clear markings suggested to be either tally marks, a series of prime numbers, or a lunar calendar.
• In 2005, Ishango became the centre for training congolese park rangers, and programme supported by the Frankfurt Zoological Society and WildlifeDirect.
• Ishango is home to the last significant population of hippos on Lake Edward, a lake which formerly held the biggest hippo population in the world.
• Human bones have been found at Ishango which, although dating only to 20,000 BC, show robust, archaic features.