Ethiopia – Seeing One Source of the Nile

From Bahir Dar on Lake Tana to the Smoking Waters or Blue Nile Falls

Sep 12, 2009

The river leaving Lake Tana 20 miles from Bahir Dar plunges over the lovely Tis Issat Falls or Smoking Waters, to become the Blue Nile, then the Nile on its way to Egypt.

For the people of Ethiopia, familiar with the Bible since the 2nd century AD, the river that left the largest lake in Ethiopia was considered to be one of the rivers of Paradise as described in the Old Testament, so they called this majestic river the Ghion (Book of Genesis, 2:13). The Roman/Jewish historian Josephus seems to have had an inkling that this river may have been a tributary of the mighty River Nile he’d seen in Egypt.

As it turned out, Josephus was right, but the relationship wasn’t finally established and mapped to the satisfaction of the scientific world until 1770. It was the larger-than-life Scottish explorer James Bruce who realized that the river leaving Lake Tana did in fact join the White Nile at Khartoum to flow north into Egypt as the River Nile.

The only Europeans to have reported seen Lake Tana and the Tis Issat Falls before Bruce were a handful of 16th century Portuguese Jesuits on a mission to convert the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church to Roman Catholicism, and they used the local Amharic name, Tis Issat, or Smoking Waters. What they would have seen at the height of the wet season (July- August) was a 40-metre-high cascade across a 400-metre-wide ledge of dark basalt, plunging into a series of spectacular gorges.

The Blue Nile Falls Today

Since the building of an HEP station in 2003, the volume and width of the falls has been reduced considerably. In the driest months, December- March, the flow is now reduced to four main streams, but it is still a lovely sight, especially when there are rainbows and the sky is a cloudless blue.

Getting to the Blue Nile Falls

Buses and taxis from Bahir Dar cover the 30 km to the parking point.
After that, it is a 30-minute walk over fairly rough ground.
Depending on the weather, the walk can be dry, rocky and dusty, or muddy and slippery.
Local ‘official’ guides are available, and it is often better to take one who speaks reasonable English, just to dissuade the others from constantly volunteering their services.

On the path, it’s worth stopping to see women and children in traditional costume preparing injera (Ethiopia’s unique style of bread), and be invited inside a house compound. It is specially set up for visitors, but still reasonably authentic, and this is where a guide can be most useful.

Fortunately, selling is forbidden near the Falls. It is possible to stay on a ridge to get the full panoramic view, or to walk for another 10 minutes further down to get closer.

Tips for the Tis Issat Falls Trip

Trekking sandals with a good grip or walking boots are fine; flip-flops can be dangerous.
The wet, rounded basalt rocks by the Falls are very slippery.
Bathing is discouraged.
Take plenty of drinking water.
Have some small change handy for tips.

It's worth the trip just to have seen one of the two great sources of the River Nile. It may not be as spectacular as it once was, but it is still a beautiful and reasonably unspoilt place to chase rainbows.

For tour information: Off-Road Ethiopia Tour

The copyright of the article Ethiopia – Seeing One Source of the Nile in Historic Tours is owned by Kate Nivison. Permission to republish Ethiopia – Seeing One Source of the Nile in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.