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The source of the Nile, as most people mean it, is the point at Jinja in eastern Uganda where the river flows out of Lake Victoria, about 80 km east of Kampala. The explorer John Hanning Speke first saw Lake Victoria in 1858 and reached the outflow, then a waterfall called Ripon Falls, in 1862.
Today the falls lie beneath water held back by a dam, but a short boat trip takes you to the spot where the White Nile begins its 6,600-km journey to the Mediterranean. The river’s most distant headwaters, the streams feeding the Kagera River in Rwanda and Burundi, lie further south.
The search for the source
Where the Nile began was one of the great geographical questions of the 19th century. Speke, travelling with Richard Burton, reached the southern shore of Lake Victoria in 1858 and argued that it was the source; Burton disagreed, and the dispute became famous. In 1862 Speke reached the northern shore at Jinja and saw the river leave the lake at Ripon Falls, which he named. Later expeditions, including Henry Morton Stanley’s circumnavigation of the lake, confirmed his view. A monument on the river bank marks his discovery.
The Nile’s journey through Uganda
From Jinja, the Victoria Nile flows north through Lake Kyoga, then west, forcing its way through a narrow gorge at Murchison Falls before entering Lake Albert. It leaves Lake Albert as the Albert Nile and continues into South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, meeting the Blue Nile from Ethiopia at Khartoum. Along the way it powers hydroelectric dams, supports fisheries and irrigates farms. See our guide to Murchison Falls National Park.
Visiting the source
Boat trips leave from landing sites on both banks near Jinja and take you to the point where the lake water turns into river current, often with fish eagles, cormorants and kingfishers around. There are small shops, cafés and the Speke monument nearby. Allow an hour or two for the visit; from Kampala, it makes an easy day trip, ideally starting early to avoid traffic. Rafting, kayaking and quad biking in Jinja can be added. See our guides to a day trip to Jinja and white-water rafting.
Adding the Nile to a gorilla safari
Jinja is east of Kampala and the gorillas are in the far south-west, so the source of the Nile fits best at the start or end of a trip. The Nile also features in the north of the country, where the boat trip to the foot of Murchison Falls is one of Uganda’s great wildlife experiences. See our 12-day safari itinerary. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November.
Frequently asked questions
At Jinja in Uganda, where the river flows out of Lake Victoria.
John Hanning Speke identified Lake Victoria as the source and reached the outflow at Jinja in 1862.
No. They were submerged by a dam in the 1950s, but boat trips visit the spot.
About 80 km, roughly 2–3 hours by road depending on traffic.
