Source du Nil – Burundi

Having backpacked the Source of the River Nile in Jinja, Uganda, I then backpacked to the Southernmost source, high in the hills above Lake Tanganyika in Burundi.

The Southernmost Source of the River Nile, not far from the town of Rutana, is perhaps one of the many sources of one of the world’s greatest rivers.

I travelled from Gitega to Rutana in a shared taxi and found a guest house almost immediately.

The ALKADOR LODGE. I get a room for just 10,000 BFr. Yeah, that’s 2.50 USD. You do indeed get what you pay for. There is no Wi-Fi, and they will bring you a bucket of water for your makeshift shower. But 24-hour electricity.

Frederick, the owner, takes me to a place for breakfast.

The coffee is superb. They do good coffee here in Burundi!

The mission was to find a way of getting to the Southernmost Source of the River Nile.

How to get to the Source of the Nile in Burundi

I had been to the confluence of the Blue and White Niles in Khartoum, Sudan. I had taken a boat across Lake Tana, in Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile and have very recently been to the Source of the White Nile in Jinja, Uganda, where Speke identified the biggest outflow from Lake Victoria.

Everything is possible here. It’s just a question of paying. Dollars make everything possible. If you can afford it, you can find someone to take you to the ends of the earth.

Google Maps puts the Source of the Nile 32 km from Rutana.

So I needed someone to take me the 64km round trip, including waiting time.

What was I willing to pay?

I wanted a price that I didn’t feel was just an opportunity to rip me off.

64km uses a fair bit of gas. I am unfamiliar with the fuel economy of a 250cc motorbike.

In Gitega, a 2.5km trip cost me 2,000 BFr. 800 BFr per km x 64km = 51,000 BFr, though in Bujumbura, 2.5km would cost more than double the cost here in rural Burundi.

​My motorbike guy, Fabian:

80,000 BFr, 20 USD on the black market. The cost of 3 beers in Dublin, 2 in London or 3/4 of a pizza in Switzerland.

80,000 BFr I felt was a fair price (make sure you change some money on the black market in Gitega or Bujumbura).

On the way to the Source of the Nile in Burundi:

Arrival at the Source du Nil in Burundi

Turns out the guide was good at using a smart phone. Nice guy too, as are all Burundians.

He rattles off lots of photos.

​The ‘climb’ is steeper than it looks:

And there, feeling on top of the world. Am sure as hell happy that I applied for the visa extension, without which I would have never made it here.

I first learned about the Southernmost Source of the River Nile back in January 1984.

My hero, Nick Sanders, a racing cyclist turned 2-wheeled adventurer, had ridden his Raleigh Team Replica bicycle from Cairo to this very spot in the summer of 1983.

His story was published in Cyclist Monthly, and later a book was written.
This Southernmost Source was discovered by Burkhart Waldecker in 1937. The pyramid was erected in 1938.

My guide and motorbike guy:

The 5000 BFr ticket:

Then we went to visit the actual source, where the Nile dribbles out of a pipe:

And having made the trip, could I have gotten here another way?

Yes. Minibuses do run from Bujumbura to Rutana, and they travel down the same road I took with the motorbike.

You’d be left with a 6 km walk to the source and a 6 km walk back. There are no facilities. Even at the source, there is no kiosk selling water, though the source is drinkable.

And getting back to town? This will be a job. Any shared taxis passing by will be full; you can not guarantee that the bus, if you see one, will stop. I have seen many people on the side of the road waiting, and the buses sail right on by.