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Lake Victoria, African Great Lakes

Also known as:  Victoria Nyanza, Victoria Ukerewe, Victoria Nalubaale

Lake Victoria — also known as Victoria Nyanza, Ukerewe, and Nalubaale — rakes in the superlatives: it is the largest lake on the African continent by surface area, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. Joined by five others, Lake Victoria is one of the Great Lakes of Africa, extending into three countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (6, – READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Welcome to the ultimate guide to Lake Victoria! Article topics include:

Looking for Lake Victoria cabins or other accommodations? Save time and use this interactive map to find, compare and book at the best rates. Or explore more of our favorite travel partners.

Welcome to the ultimate guide to Lake Victoria! Article topics include:

Looking for Lake Victoria cabins or other accommodations? Save time and use this interactive map to find, compare and book at the best rates. Or explore more of our favorite travel partners.

All About Lake Victoria

Lake Locations: African Great Lakes - Kenya - Nyanza - Western - Tanzania - Kagera - Mara - Mwanza - Uganda - Central -

Lake Victoria — also known as Victoria Nyanza, Ukerewe, and Nalubaale — rakes in the superlatives: it is the largest lake on the African continent by surface area, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. Joined by five others, Lake Victoria is one of the Great Lakes of Africa, extending into three countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (6, 45, and 49 percent, respectively). Lake Victoria provides drinking water, hydroelectric power, water transportation, and economic development to the area. The lake supports industries such as commercial fishing, agriculture, trade, tourism, and wildlife preservation.

Though Lake Victoria has been around for more than 400,000 years, the first accounts of human arrival come from Arab traders in the 1100s, who arrived in search of gold, ivory, and slaves. Europeans later arrived in 1858, when British explorers John Hanning Speke and Richard Francis Burton arrived on a central Africa exploration expedition. Believing the lake to be the mouth of the Nile, Speke named it after Queen Victoria of England. Debate ensued on whether the lake actually held title as Mouth of the Nile, and many explorers arrived to either prove or refute Speke’s claim. Eventually, the American Explorer Henry Morton Stanley discovered the lake’s outflow at Ripon Falls, thus validating Speke’s original statement: Lake Victoria forms the headwaters of the great Nile River.

Ripon Falls in Uganda was the only natural outlet for Lake Victoria. With construction of the Owen Falls Dam and Nalubaale Power Station in 1954, the original Falls were submerged. An agreement between Uganda and Egypt dictated that water releases through the dam would correspond with the natural outflow before damming. The Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) operates the power station, which supplies electricity to Uganda and neighboring Kenya. Uganda completed a second hydroelectric powerhouse, the Kiira station, in 2003, and a third power station at the Bujugali Falls has been planned. However, due to prolonged drought and hydropower generation, Lake Victoria water levels have fallen to their lowest levels since 1951, with serious negative impact on fishing, transportation, electricity, and tourism. The three countries bordering Lake Victoria have prepared National Environmental Action Plans, acknowledging that cooperation is necessary to address the challenges of water pollution, biodiversity loss, land and wetlands degradation, and deforestation.

Though Lake Victoria extends into Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, international water travel is not possible. Visitors to the area must choose their country, and the offerings are many. One of the most common ways to reach Lake Victoria is by safari, allowing you to visit the lake, its islands, and several neighboring national parks.

Kenya offers rich natural and cultural offerings, and a visit to the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria will give you insight into the people and animals that make their home here. Western Kenya is largely unexplored, and absent are the mass of safari vans that so often dot the African landscape. Instead of mass tourism, here you’ll participate in cultural immersion and get even deeper insight to African life by overnighting in a home stay. You’ll soon find that community-based tourism is a central part of life here, educating visitors and helping local communities sustain themselves.

A Kenya-based Lake Victoria safari usually starts in Nairobi to Ndere Island National Park. Located in the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, the island has been uninhabited since 1986. Ndere means “meeting place” in Dholou, and here you will first meet the lake’s waters, flora, and fauna. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of African fish eagles, hippopotamuses, swifts, and Nile crocodiles that are known to make their home here. Later, travel to Homa Bay, a town and bay on the southern shore of Winam Gulf. Gaze at the vast Mount Homa, investigate Ruma National Park, and keep your eyes peeled for giraffes, roan antelope, and hartebeests. Next stop is usually Rusinga Island, which includes a history museum, native Luo people, and growing sustainable tourism options. Several safaris will also take you to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where you will meet the native Maasai and explore the landscape before heading back to your home base.

A visit to Lake Victoria’s Tanzania coast will likely bring you to one spot: Rubondo Island National Park. The only national park in the country, the 93 square mile island is a mass of green trees, sparkling blue waters, and varied wildlife. Nature lovers will enjoy seeing giraffe, elephants, crocodiles, hippos, monkeys, otters, suni antelope, and marsh mongoose, though bird watchers will be those most satisfied by a visit to Rubondo Island National Park. Home to almost 400 bird species, the island is a avian paradise of cormorants, kingfishers, hornbills, ibises, storks, flycatchers, herons, and many birds of pray, including the world’s highest density of fish eagles. There are several tours available on-island, and lodging options are also available, allowing visitors to make the most of their time on Tanzania’s Lake Victoria coast.

Uganda, which Winston Churchill called the “pearl of Africa,” offers Lake Victoria visitors incredible scenery, vast wildlife populations, and volcanic ranges, all with a background of beautiful snow-capped mountain peaks. Rare mountain gorillas live in the mountains, and among Uganda’s tourist offerings are a Gorilla Safari and Chimpanzee treks, offering you scenic vistas and shoreline explorations.

Your days visiting Lake Victoria will be filled with wildlife watching, birdwatching, and appreciation of the varied African landscape around you. Depending on your time constraints and trip goals, choose your country wisely, and you will glimpse the Lake Victoria that Arab traders and European explorers first discovered.

Things to Do at Lake Victoria

  • Vacation Rentals
  • Fishing
  • Wildlife Viewing
  • Birding
  • National Park
  • Museum

All About Lake Victoria

Best hotels and vacation rentals at Lake Victoria

The Lake Victoria map shown above is a simple and stress-free way to search for trip accommodations. But if you want to take a deeper dive to find the ideal waterfront home, cabin, condo, hotel or resort, visit our favorite lodging partners by clicking the buttons below.

Search Tripadvisor
Search VRBO
Search Booking.com

Note: These are affiliate links so we may earn a small commission if you book through them. While there is no extra cost to you, it helps provide resources to keep our site running (thank you)! You can read our full disclosure policy here.

More Ways to Book a Lake Victoria Vacation

While our interactive map above is perfect for comparing LAKENAME rental homes (with VRBO) and nearby hotels (with Booking.com), there might be times when you need to expand your search with a different type of accommodation. Here are some other LAKNAME lodging partners you might want to explore:

Check TripAdvisor
Explore RV Rentals
Find a Campspot
View All Resources

Note: These are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission. Read our full disclosure policy here.

More Sites to Book a Lake Victoria Vacation

Our interactive lodging map shown above is perfect for comparing LAKENAME VRBO rental homes and nearby Booking.com hotels, there are times when you need to expand your search for different types of accommodation. Here are some other LAKNAME lodging partners you can explore:

Check TripAdvisor
Explore RV Rentals
Find a Campspot
View All Resources

Note: These are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission. Read our disclosure policy here.

More Sites to Book a Lake Victoria Vacation

Our interactive lodging map shown above is perfect for comparing LAKENAME VRBO rental homes and nearby Booking.com hotels, there are times when you need to expand your search for different types of accommodation. Here are some other LAKNAME lodging partners you can explore:

Check TripAdvisor
Explore RV Rentals
Find a Campspot
View All Resources

Note: These are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission. Read our disclosure policy here.

Recommended Sites to Book a Lake Victoria Vacation

If you want to take a deeper dive to find waterfront lake cabins, cottages, condos, hotels or resorts, check out our favorite Lake Victoria lodging partners.

  • VRBO – Use VRBO to find the perfect lake rental home, condo, cabin, cottage or other vacation property.
  • Booking.com – One of the world’s leading digital travel companies, Booking.com connects travelers to everything from cozy B&Bs to luxury resorts.
  • Expedia – Expedia is a popular online travel agency with more than 140,000 lodging properties worldwide.
  • Hotels.com – With more than 325,000 hotels in 19,000-plus locations, Hotels.com is an industry leader in online accommodations.
  • TripAdvisor – Read traveler reviews and compare prices on hotels, vacation rentals and more at TripAdvisor.
  • Trivago – Trivago helps travelers compare deals for hotels and other accommodations from a variety of booking sites.
  • KAYAK – KAYAK scours hundreds of other travel websites at once to find the best deals on hotels and other travel-related services.
  • RVshare –RVshare connects travelers interested in renting a motorhome with owners who have RVs to rent.
  • CampSpot – Campspot offers premier RV resorts, family campgrounds, cabins and glamping options across North America.
ALL TRAVEL RESOURCES

Note: These are affiliate links so we may earn a small commission if you book through them. While there is no extra cost to you, it helps provide resources to keep our site running (thank you)! You can read our full disclosure policy here.

Lake Victoria Photo Gallery

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Lake Victoria Statistics & Helpful Links

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Lake Type: Natural Freshwater Lake, Dammed

Surface Area: 17,000,350 acres

Shoreline Length: 2,138 miles

Normal Elevation (Full Pond): 3,717 feet

Average Depth: 131 feet

Maximum Depth: 272 feet

Water Volume: 2,229,461,280 acre-feet

Water Residence Time: 23 years

Drainage Area: 71,043 sq. miles

Trophic State: Meso-eutrophic

Lake Victoria Map

We strive to keep the information on LakeLubbers as accurate as possible. However, if you’ve found something in this article that needs updating, we’d certainly love to hear from you! Please fill out our Content Correction form.

More Lake Victoria news from LakeLubbers.com

  • Advertise your vacation rental property or local business: DETAILS HERE
  • The Lake Victoria forum has been discontinued: HERE’S WHY
  • New Lake Victoria photos coming soon!
  • You’re invited to join our lake-lovin’ community on Facebook and Instagram!
  • Share this Lake Victoria article with your fellow LakeLubbers:

Do you have a vacation rental property at Lake Victoria? Coming in 2022, LakeLubbers will have an opportunity for you to showcase your listing and put it in front of thousands of lake lovers searching our site for homes, condos or townhomes to rent for their upcoming lake trip this season.

Please get in touch with our advertising team HERE and we’ll provide you more details on this upcoming advertising opportunity.

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Looking for the Lake Victoria forum?

LakeLubbers previously offered visitors the ability to create accounts and participate in lake forums. When we overhauled the site’s content management system in 2021 we had to disable those features. We’re evaluating options and welcome your comments and feedback here.

We also encourage you to join our lake-lovin’ community on Facebook and Instagram!

Click here to advertise your Lake Victoria vacation rental or local business.

The former Lake Victoria forum is closed. Find out why here.

New Lake Victoria photo gallery is coming soon.

Please share this article with your fellow lake lovers!

Spread the word! Share our Lake Victoria article with your fellow Lake Lubbers!

Explore local Lake Victoria vacation rentals and hotel accommodations using our interactive map. Clicking on listings below will allow you to compare nearby properties, best rates and availability for your dates.

Looking for the old Lake Victoria forum group? Click Here

New Lake Victoria photos coming soon!

Vacation Home Name

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  • 2 bedrooms
  • 2 bathrooms
  • hot tub
  • wifi