Karisoke Research Center is the mountain gorilla research station Dian Fossey founded in 1967 in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, between Mount Bisoke and Mount Karisimbi. It is still active, run by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Visitors cannot tour the station, but can hike to the old camp and graves.
Table of Contents
- What Karisoke is
- How the camp began
- Why a research station matters
- A day of fieldwork today
- What the researchers study
- Karisoke and the wider park
- Can you visit Karisoke?
- What you will see at the old camp
- Comparing your options
- How Karisoke connects to the family stories you will hear
- Respecting the site
- The people behind the station
- Long-term records and what they show
- A short history of the site
- Preparing for the hike
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Karisoke is
Karisoke Research Center is the longest-running study of wild mountain gorillas in the world. It sits on the high slopes of the Virunga volcanoes in northern Rwanda, in Volcanoes National Park. The name joins the first letters of the two mountains it lies between: Karisimbi and Bisoke.
The centre has had two lives. The first was the small camp Dian Fossey built in 1967, where she lived and worked for eighteen years. The second is the modern research programme that carries her work forward under the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, with Rwandan scientists, trackers and vets at its centre.
If you have come to Rwanda to meet the animals it studies, our gorilla trekking in Rwanda page explains how a visit works. This article explains what happens behind the scenes.
How the camp began
Fossey first tried to study gorillas on the Congolese side of the Virunga range in 1967. Unrest forced her to leave within months, and she crossed into Rwanda, where she set up a new camp. She chose a saddle between Karisimbi and Bisoke, at high altitude, where several gorilla groups moved through the same area.
The first buildings were basic: a few cabins, some tents and a cook shed. Money came from a mix of research grants and magazine support. Over time the camp grew, and students and researchers arrived to work with her. You can read her story in our article on Dian Fossey's legacy in Rwanda.
Why a research station matters
Long-term research is unusual in wildlife science, and for gorillas it is very valuable. Because individual animals are known by name, face and family from birth, researchers can follow whole lives. They can record when females leave their birth group, how long infants nurse, how leadership passes between males and how illness spreads.
That kind of data is only possible after decades of daily observation. It informs everything from how groups are monitored to how visits are managed. It is one reason the gorillas in Rwanda are among the best understood of any wild ape.
A day of fieldwork today
The work at Karisoke is not glamorous. Teams leave early to reach the gorilla groups being followed that day, often walking for hours on steep, wet ground. They record each animal's location, behaviour, feeding and interactions, and note any signs of illness or injury.
Trackers, most of them from communities near the park, do the daily follows. Their skills are hard to replace: they read trails, recognise individuals from a distance and know when to hold back. Veterinarians and researchers use their records to decide when an animal needs treatment.
What the researchers study
Current work covers a wide range of questions:
- Group composition and social change, including how groups form and split
- Feeding ecology, meaning what the gorillas eat and how it changes with season
- Health, including how respiratory disease spreads between animals
- Ranging and habitat use across the volcanoes
- How tourism and human presence affect behaviour
The findings are shared with the Rwanda Development Board, which manages the park, so that rules for visitors and rangers reflect the evidence.
Karisoke and the wider park
Karisoke is not a separate park. It works alongside the park's own rangers, trackers and tourism teams. The gorilla families you can visit on a trek are habituated by the park, and some are also followed by the research team. Our article on the gorilla families of Volcanoes National Park explains who lives where.
The relationship is practical. Research findings shape park decisions, and park staff help protect the animals the researchers follow. Together they are part of the reason the population has grown. For the wider story of how protection has worked, see how Rwanda saved the mountain gorilla.
Can you visit Karisoke?
The active research station is not open to tourists. It is a working base, and visitors would disturb both the researchers and the gorillas. What you can do is hike to the site of Fossey's original camp, where the graves of Fossey and many gorillas lie.
The hike is offered through the park and runs on steep, muddy ground through farmland, bamboo and forest. It takes most of a day, and you need to be reasonably fit and dressed for cold and rain. Our Dian Fossey tomb hike page covers the practical details, and our article on the Dian Fossey grave at Karisoke explains what you will see.
Bring waterproof boots, gaiters if you have them, and a rain jacket. The route crosses mud even in the dry season.
What you will see at the old camp
The old camp site is quiet. There is a small area of cleared ground and a graveyard, laid out with simple markers for Fossey and for the gorillas she and her successors buried there. Some of the graves belong to animals killed by poachers, and some to gorillas that died of natural causes.
The sense of place comes as much from the surroundings as from what has been built. You are high on a volcano, in cool forest, listening for movement in the bamboo. Guides will tell you the history of individual gorillas, and how the camp fits into the story.
Comparing your options
| Activity | What you see | Time | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorilla trek | A habituated gorilla family | Half day, varies with the family | Moderate to hard |
| Dian Fossey tomb hike | Old camp site and graves | Most of a day | Hard |
| Golden monkey trek | Golden monkeys in bamboo | Half day | Moderate |
Many visitors do the gorilla trek first, then the tomb hike the next day. Our Volcanoes National Park page shows how the activities fit together, and you can read about the golden monkey trek as another way to spend time in the same forest.
How Karisoke connects to the family stories you will hear
On a gorilla trek, your guide may mention how the family you are visiting formed, who led it and who has died or left. That knowledge comes from decades of monitoring, some of it started at Karisoke. To understand what you are seeing, it helps to know how the groups are organised. Our article on gorilla family structure explains the roles of silverbacks, mothers and young.
Respecting the site
The old camp is a graveyard as well as a historical site. Keep your voice low, do not touch the markers, and follow your guide's instructions. Do not bring food into the graveyard area. Photography is generally allowed, but ask before you photograph other visitors.
The people behind the station
Karisoke relies on people with very different skills. Scientists design studies and analyse the records. Trackers, many of whom grew up near the park, do the daily follows and know the gorillas as individuals. Veterinarians treat animals in the field, and support staff run the camp, its supplies and its communications.
Rwandan staff now make up a large share of the team, and many trackers have decades of experience. Their knowledge is often passed between generations of a family. If you meet a tracker on a trek, ask how long they have worked in the forest. The answer is often a long one.
Long-term records and what they show
After more than half a century, Karisoke's records cover several generations of gorillas. That length allows researchers to answer questions that no short study can: how long individuals live, how often groups change leaders, how the population responds to disease, and how gorilla families develop over time.
The same records help the park manage visits. If a group is showing stress, or an infant is unwell, the monitoring team can adjust how often the family is visited. This link between research and daily management is one of Karisoke's less visible contributions.
A short history of the site
| Period | Development |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Fossey sets up camp between Karisimbi and Bisoke |
| 1977 | Digit is killed, and the Digit Fund is created |
| 1985 | Fossey is killed, and the camp continues under new leadership |
| Later decades | Rwandan and international teams expand research and monitoring |
| Today | The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International runs the centre |
Preparing for the hike
If you plan to visit the old camp, prepare properly. Wear waterproof boots and warm layers, carry water and a packed snack, and bring a rain jacket even if the morning is clear. The altitude means the temperature can drop quickly.
Ask your operator about fitness requirements, because the hike is demanding. If you are unsure, choose the gorilla trek first and decide about the hike afterwards. Our gorilla trekking fitness guide can help you judge how you will cope.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Karisoke mean? mean?
It combines the first letters of Karisimbi and Bisoke, the two volcanoes between which the camp was built. It is now also the name of the research programme.
Who runs Karisoke today?
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International runs the research centre, working with Rwandan staff and in partnership with the Rwandan government and the park authorities.
Can tourists stay at Karisoke?
No. The research station is not a lodge or guesthouse and is not open to visitors. You can hike to the old camp site and graves on a guided day trip, and stay in lodges near the park.
How long is the hike to Fossey's grave?
It takes most of a day, and the exact time depends on your pace, the weather and the route you are given. Expect steep, muddy ground. Ask your operator for the current guidance.
Is Karisoke the same as Volcanoes National Park?
No. Volcanoes National Park is the protected area managed by the Rwanda Development Board. Karisoke is a research programme that operates within it.