Trekking to the Dian Fossey Tomb is one of the most sought-after safari activities carried out while visiting Volcanoes national park for a gorilla trip. The trek involves a 30 minutes drive from the park headquarters to the trailhead to access the Karisoke research camp, where visitors walk for 10 minutes to the park boundary.The walk from the park boundary to the research center where the Dian’s grave is, takes about an hour to 1 hour and a half hours and affords good views of forest hogs, forest elephants, a variety of primates, and bird species.
This hike is an incredible experience physically, emotionally and intellectually. It is so inspiring to learn about someone who was so dedicated and left a legacy that exists even today. The hike involves moving through the forests and hiking up the slopes and therefore requires some relative degree of fitness and patience.
At the site you will find the house from where Dian Fossey was mysteriously murdered in 1985 but the more peaceful is the place where she was buried just next to her favorite gorilla friend, Digit, and about 20 other mountain gorillas either killed by poachers or suffered death for other reasons.
On several occasions, hiking to Dian Fossey grave yard› is one as a complement to other tourism activities in Rwanda which include gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, volcano hiking, caving and a visit to Bulere and Buhondo twin lakes.
About
Dian Fossey was an American primatologist and anthropologist who committed her life to the conservation of the Mountain Gorilla by conducting an 18 year comprehensive study about the fateful ape.
Dian Fossey is portrayed in Gorillas in the Mist, a 1988 American drama film directed by Michael Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver. Her anti-poaching patrols led to the arrest of many poachers who were sentenced to jail and some are still serving their sentences. Dian was murdered in 1985 in her tent at her research institute by unknown murders where she was found lying in a pool of blood in the early morning of December 27, 1985.
Fossey is buried at Karisoke, in a site that she herself had constructed for her deceased gorilla friends. She was buried in the gorilla graveyard next to Digit, and near many gorillas killed by poachers. Memorial services were also held in New York, Washington, and California.
Go hike the Dian Fossey grave as a tribute to her great work of protecting the Volcanoes mountain gorillas which today are still existing and your able to come see them. Very advisable to go do the tomb hike the day after your gorilla safari in the Volcanoes Forest.
Trekking to the Dian Fossey Tomb is one of the most sought-after safari activities carried out while visiting Volcanoes national park for a gorilla trip.
At the site you will find the house from where Dian Fossey was mysteriously murdered in 1985 but the more peaceful is the place where she was buried just next to her favorite gorilla friend, Digit and about 20 other mountain gorillas either killed by poachers or suffered death for other reasons
