Dian Fossey Tomb Trail

Dian Fossey set up the Karisoke research camp in 1967 in the saddle between Karisimbi and Bisoke and worked on mountain gorillas here for eighteen years. The camp buildings are gone, but the site remains, and Fossey is buried in the gorilla graveyard she made, beside Digit, the male whose killing in 1977 turned her campaigning public. The walk up takes about two hours through bamboo and Hagenia forest, and it is muddy in every season.

What you actually see

• The graveyard - Fossey's grave beside the gorillas she buried there.
• The camp site - the ground where Karisoke stood, with foundations remaining.
• The forest - bamboo and Hagenia on the walk up between the two volcanoes.
• The saddle - the ground between Karisimbi and Bisoke the camp was built in.

When to go

June to September and December to February are the drier windows. Mud is heavy in any season and worse in the rains. Mornings are the standard start.

Honest expectations

There are no buildings left; the site is foundations and graves, and visitors expecting a museum are disappointed. The walk is muddy and steeper than the distance suggests. A permit and guide are compulsory.

Nearby

Bisoke rises above the site, and Kinigi is below at the park headquarters.