The Nile River travels more than 6,600 kilometres before it reaches the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt — passing through ten different countries along the way. Every single drop starts its journey somewhere, and many scientists and explorers believe that the most distant source is this quiet spring in the mountains of Burundi.
The spring feeds a small stream that trickles downhill and joins bigger rivers on its very long journey north. The water that flows past Cairo in Egypt, and has flowed past the pyramids for thousands of years, may have begun its life here in the green Burundian highlands.
A pyramid-shaped stone monument was placed at Rutovu to celebrate the site. Children from nearby schools visit it on school trips, and visitors come from all over the world to crouch down and touch the water right at the very start of its enormous journey. It is a small, quiet place that connects to something absolutely enormous.