Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is known for the famed work by zoologist Dian Fossey, who spent 20 years in the park among the gorillas, conducting valuable research and campaigning for their protection. She was tragically killed in the park - a murder suspected to have been committed by poachers. The famed film 'Gorillas in the Mist' was a film based on Fossey and her life in the Volcanoes National Park, and it was filmed in the renowned park itself.
Volcanoes National Park is adorned with a variety of forest types, occurring at different altitudes, providing a number of different habitats. Gorilla safaris are conducted in Volcanoes National Park, after having re-established this unique tourist experience in 1999. There are 300 of these gentle giants residing in the park and 4 habituated families that tolerate the presence of humans in their midst. The gorillas have the freedom to roam far and wide within the park, so the effort involved in tracking them can sometimes involve a substantial amount of hiking and trekking. This, however, is all part of the experience and is an incredible and unique forest and bamboo environment that is an extremely special place to be in.
“In the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat,” wrote the eminent primatologist Dian Fossey, “are great, old volcanoes towering almost 15,000 feet, and nearly covered with rich, green rainforest - the Virungas.”
