Gabon's economic capital on an island delta — pelicans, mangroves, and the gateway to Fernan Vaz lagoon
Port-Gentil occupies Mandji Island at the mouth of the Ogooué River delta — Gabon's principal port and oil industry capital, accessible only by air or boat from Libreville, which gives it an island-city quality that feels nothing like a petroleum hub. The mangrove-lined Fernan Vaz lagoon to the south is one of Central Africa's best birdwatching environments, with shoebill storks, pink-backed pelicans, and a documented hippo population. Port-Gentil has decent colonial-era architecture around its central market, good fish from the daily riverside fish market, and the relaxed energy of a city th…
Port-Gentil was established as a French colonial trading post in the late 19th century, named for Émile Gentil who explored the Ogooué River for France. The discovery of offshore oil in the 1960s transformed it from a timber-export port into Gabon's economic engine — today handling most of the country's petroleum exports. Albert Schweitzer established his famous hospital further up the Ogooué River at Lambaréné; Port-Gentil served as the resupply and transit point for European missionaries and colonialists penetrating the interior. The mangrove ecosystem of the Ogooué delta was protected rela…