“What was she like?” I asked, to which he replied: ” A strong woman! Big temper, passionate.”

On my recent Rwanda trip to the site of Dian Fossey’s final resting place in the Virunga mountains, I was struck by the stillness and silence of the area. Roland, my guide, was old enough to have worked with Fossey.

I was also surprised by how moved I was standing on the site of the old Karisoke research centre, her home, the physical building of which had long disappeared. My guide then produced an old photograph of the exact same spot on which we stood, Fossey with notebook in hand and the building intact behind.

“I like coming here as it’s peaceful” Roland said, “but I work here to make her proud.”

Follow in Dian Fossey’s footsteps and journey to the Kingdom of Gorillas on our Rwanda group tour.

Thanks for reading

Chris Johnston

Author: Chris Johnston