Livingstone-Stanley Monument

A stone at Mugere south of Bujumbura marks the place where David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley are said to have spent two nights in November 1871, a fortnight after their meeting at Ujiji across the lake, while exploring the northern end of Lake Tanganyika to see whether it drained toward the Nile. It does not. The stone sits on a rise above the lake shore with the water below. The two men established that the Ruzizi flows into Tanganyika rather than out of it, which ruled the lake out as a Nile source.

Background

In French the site is called La Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley; it stands 12 km south of Bujumbura, above Lake Tanganyika, and the date 25 November 1871 is scratched into the rock. After six days at Ujiji, the two men travelled by canoe along the north-east shore, and at the Mugere River Chief Mukamba welcomed them into his village and gave them a hut, where they stayed from 25 to 27 November. They later counted it among the warmest receptions of their journey, and they were the first Europeans in the area. Some local accounts place their first meeting here, though it took place at Ujiji on 10 November 1871, as Stanley's book How I Found Livingstone records.

Source: Wikipedia, "Livingstone-Stanley Monument"

What to look for

• The inscribed stone - the marker recording the 1871 stay.
• The lake view - Tanganyika laid out below the rise.
• The Nile question - the expedition's purpose in coming up this shore.
• The setting - a quiet rise above the lakeside road.

When to go

June to September is the dry season. Late afternoon light over the lake is best. The rains from October make the road slower.

Things to know

It is a single stone and the visit takes minutes. The association is traditional rather than firmly documented. A fee is collected and there is little interpretation.

Nearby

Bujumbura is north, and Rumonge is south.

Key facts