Source of the Nile
Where Lake Victoria flows out and the White Nile begins. Take a small boat to the spot where the lake meets the river, which marks the Nile’s source, and see the Speke Memorial.
In 1862, the British explorer John Hanning Speke identified Lake Victoria as the source of the Nile, and a memorial stands in the garden on the east bank. The original Ripon Falls were submerged by a reservoir behind a downstream dam. Today, a small wooden boat takes about an hour to reach the spring where the lake water wells up. You can see churning currents on the surface. Boatmen stop at a small island in the lake, where you often see cormorants, kingfishers, and monitor lizards. The Source of the Nile Garden on the west bank has a statue commemorating Mahatma Gandhi, part of whose ashes were scattered here. The east bank entrance charges an admission fee for foreign visitors, while the boat ride is paid separately and the price is negotiable.
Opening hours
About 08:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Lake Victoria (Jinja shore)
- Jinja Old Town
- Jinja Central Market
- Source of the Nile Bridge & Owen Falls Dam
- White Nile Rafting
- Bujagali
- Mabira Forest
- Itanda Falls