Lake Victoria is not only the largest tropical lake in the world; it is also the Source of River Nile - the longest river in the world. Although Wikipedia disputes the facts that the source of Nile is Lake Victoria, but since it does not offer an alternative locations and the Ugandan government has already developed the tourist spot, I think it would be fair to say that the Nile starts from Lake Victoria.
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the former being the longer of the two. The White Nile starts from Lake Victoria and flows through southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
We saw very few tourists on at this place (maybe because it was late in the evening and it had rained a lot a couple of hours earlier). We would have taken the boat ride in the lake and the river, but we did not have much time; so we took a few pictures and moved on.
Next to the source of the Nile is a statue of Gandhi. According to Ghandi's wish, the majority of his ashes were immersed in some of the world's major rivers. The monument represents the place at the source of Nile where part of theses ashes were immersed. I am told that a lot of Indians visit this place to pay their respects to him.
You can also see the Source of the Nile Trip album at Picasa.
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the former being the longer of the two. The White Nile starts from Lake Victoria and flows through southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
We saw very few tourists on at this place (maybe because it was late in the evening and it had rained a lot a couple of hours earlier). We would have taken the boat ride in the lake and the river, but we did not have much time; so we took a few pictures and moved on.
Next to the source of the Nile is a statue of Gandhi. According to Ghandi's wish, the majority of his ashes were immersed in some of the world's major rivers. The monument represents the place at the source of Nile where part of theses ashes were immersed. I am told that a lot of Indians visit this place to pay their respects to him.
You can also see the Source of the Nile Trip album at Picasa.
Labels: jinja, Lake, LakeVictoria, nile, uganda
Reading through the Nile portion brought back memories of Dr. Samuel Fergusson (a character from ‘Five weeks in a balloon’ by Jules Verne. I would add an excerpt from the same:
“On Wednesday 23rd of April, the Victoria got under way at four in the morning, under a grey sky. The darkness lingered over the waters of the lake, which were veiled in a dense fog, but soon a strong wind swept this way. For some minutes the Victoria drifted about in various directions and finally bore away due north. Dr. Fergusson clapped his hands with delight. “This is the way we want to go,” he cried. “If we don’t see the Nile today, we shall never see it. We are now crossing the Equator, entering into our own hemisphere.”………………………Accordingly they celebrated the Victoria’s crossing of the line. She moved swiftly. To westward cold be seen the low-lying coast broken by a few hills, and beyond, the higher plateaus of Uganda and Usoga………………..”This lake”, said the doctor “is from its high situation obviously the natural reservoir of the rivers of the east. The rain replenishes it with water evaporated from its tributaries. It seems to me certain that it is the source of the Nile.”……………………………..it curved in such a way as to from as to form a very wide angle at the extremity of the lake (lat 2o 40’N). High mountains raised their barren peaks at this end of the lake, and between them a deep and winding gorge gave passage to a turbulent torrent………………………………“Look my friends!” he cried. “The stories of the Arabs were correct. They spoke of a river by which Lake Ukereue poured its waters northward. That river exists and we are following it. It flows about the same pace as we are traveling. This little stream gliding away below our feet will certainly merge into waves of the Mediterranean. It’s the Nile!”