Hello there,
I quickly start off saying that I am currently having issues with the color settings of my monitor and some of the pictures I am going to upload might look slightly different than they are supposed to look. I am working on it.
Few weeks ago, after many failed attempts to go to Jinja with some friends, I decided to just go by myself and get over with it.
Jinja is where the river Nile starts its way up all the way to Egypt, the source is the point where the river leaves the Lake Victoria; it is debated where the source actually is, you can read more here; being this place heavily advertised as such (there is even a sign!), I will just overlook the fact that this could not be the exactly be the source and enjoy it anyway.
Jinja is a quite nice touristic town, 2/3 hours away from Kampala. It has a different look from the capital, the building styles are still heavily influenced by the strong presence of Indian people before the expulsion of all Asians from Uganda in the 70s.
Once arrived there, I treated myself with a nice lunch at an amazing vegetarian Indian restaurant and then headed to the source of the Nile by boda-boda.
The source of the Nile can be accessed through a dedicated entrance which has an entry fee (10.000 Ush, for foreign people). The park has several small shops selling local crafts and common souvenirs as well as restaurant and bars near the river.
Not even 100 meters from the gate, I am approached by a guide who offered to show me around and suggested the different options for the boat tour. After getting closer to the river and bargaining an acceptable price for the 30min ride with the guide, the tour to the source of the river Nile started.
The trip itself isn’t anything particular, but realizing to be right on the source of the longest river in the world and, at the same time, visualizing myself as a tiny dot in Africa made the experience much more exciting. It is one of those moments when you mentally cross off an item from the personal ‘amazing things to do before expiring’; being in Africa was definitely there and, I guess, seeing the source of the river Nile must have been somewhere as well.
The boat, after the tour has ended, dropped us in front of the Mahatma Gandhi memorial statue; part of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes have been scattered right here, at the source of the Nile.
There is also a quite nice green area from which it is possible to enjoy both the river and the lake (see the first picture); after the long day and before heading back to Kampala, I just sat there just enjoying the view and considering that I can really call myself a happy person; this is really what I love doing.
/Nesh
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That sounds really amazing, the source of the river Nile!
Just talked to a group of Saudi Arabia natives, who recently visited the Source of River Nile. They said they cant wait to visit again, and even tour other attractions in Uganda.
Interesante . Aprendo algo con cada blog todos los días. Siempre es estimulante poder devorar el contenido de otros bloggers. Desearía usar algo de tu blog en mi blog, naturalmente dejare un enlace , si no te importa. Gracias por compartir.