Reading or watching Dian Fossey's story before you go transforms your gorilla trek. You'll understand who the gorilla families are, why the rules exist, and what nearly happened to these animals. Here's our shortlist.
The book: Gorillas in the Mist (1983)
Dian Fossey's own account of her years at the Karisoke Research Center is still the essential read. It introduces the gorillas as individuals — Digit, Uncle Bert, Beethoven and many more — and describes their family lives, alongside the brutal reality of poaching. Parts are scientific, parts personal; all of it is vivid.
The film: Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, the Hollywood film dramatises her life from her first trip to Africa to her death. It was filmed partly in the Virungas with real mountain gorillas and earned Weaver an Academy Award nomination. It compresses and simplifies events, but it captures the place and her passion.
Biographies
- Woman in the Mists by Farley Mowat — built around Fossey's own diaries and letters; intimate and sympathetic.
- The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey by Harold T. P. Hayes — a more critical, investigative portrait of her life and death.
Documentaries and nature films
- National Geographic: Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist — a three-part documentary series revisiting her life, work and murder.
- David Attenborough's gorilla encounter in Life on Earth — filmed in the Virungas with Fossey's help, one of the most famous wildlife scenes ever broadcast.
See it for yourself
After the books and films, the real thing: an hour with a mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park, and the Dian Fossey tomb hike up to Karisoke, where she is buried among the gorillas. Read her full biography in our Dian Fossey guide.
Questions
Is Gorillas in the Mist a true story?
The 1988 film is based on Dian Fossey's real life and her 1983 book of the same name, though like most biopics it dramatises and compresses events.
Who played Dian Fossey?
Sigourney Weaver played Dian Fossey in "Gorillas in the Mist" (1988), a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination.
What should I read before gorilla trekking?
Start with Dian Fossey's own "Gorillas in the Mist" (1983). For her life story, Farley Mowat's "Woman in the Mists" draws on her diaries and letters.
