The Southernmost Source of the Nile

High in the green hills of southern Burundi, near Rutovu, a small pyramidal monument marks one of the most evocative spots in Africa: the southernmost source of the mighty Nile. Here a modest spring, trickling from a hillside at over two thousand metres, is considered the most distant headwater feeding, by way of the Kagera river, Lake Victoria and the White Nile, the longest river in the world on its immense journey to the Mediterranean. Reaching this humble beginning of so legendary a river is a quietly moving experience, rewarded by sweeping views over Burundi's famous rolling hills. For lovers of geography and exploration, it is a place of real symbolic power.

What you actually see

• The source spring - the humble hillside spring and monument.
• The pyramid marker - the small monument to the Nile's source.
• The rolling hills - the sweeping views over Burundi's highlands.
• The symbolic setting - the distant beginning of the great river.

When to go

June to September, the dry season, is the most comfortable time to reach the hilltop and enjoy the sweeping views, when tracks are drier and skies clearer; the highland setting is cool and green through much of the year. Clear days give the finest panoramas over the surrounding hills.

Honest expectations

The site itself is a modest spring and simple monument rather than a dramatic spectacle, so its appeal is symbolic and scenic, the romance of standing at a source of the Nile amid beautiful hills, rather than a grand sight. As the southernmost source of the world's longest river, set in Burundi's rolling green highlands, though, it is a quietly moving and memorable place.

Nearby

The southern highlands and the Karera Falls lie in the wider region.