Livingstone-Stanley Monument
Livingstone-Stanley Monument
Livingstone-Stanley Monument
3.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
52 reviews
Excellent
9
Very good
16
Average
19
Poor
5
Terrible
3
jlittlewy
Jackson, WY12 contributions
Apr 2013 • Friends
This is the Number 4 rated attraction in Bujumbura.
Getting there was most of the adventure. We were using the large scale Rwanda-Burundi map which shows the location as near Rubiza and the mouth of the Mugere River, as well as previous traveller's reviews in Trip Advisor. Some noted that if you didn't have a guide, it is hard to find. This is true. We were driving ourselves and took all the turns on every road going towards the lake from Rubeza to Kabeza. There are no direction signs. Finally, after driving back and forth several times, we hired a local cab in Kabeza to lead us there. Simple then. When you are heading south and cross the Mugere River, there is a right turn at the top of the hill into what looks like a driveway for the little house there. There is a sign that says Livingstone-Stanley SnackBar 300 meters down the highway but doesn't mention the Monument which is around behind the back and through the yard of the house. Not a well used road. We must have missed the gold inscription. The view and overlook of the river and lake are nice. I would have camped there also.
So if anyone else knows the story of how the Stone got there and where it came from, I would love to know. It is obviously an erratic and came from somewhere else. I won't believe space ships or levitation.
Also, if anyone knows why they have always used Livingstone's last name and Stanley (Rowland)'s first name, I would love that story as well.
Interesting excursion from Butare(Huye) Rwanda for the weekend.
Getting there was most of the adventure. We were using the large scale Rwanda-Burundi map which shows the location as near Rubiza and the mouth of the Mugere River, as well as previous traveller's reviews in Trip Advisor. Some noted that if you didn't have a guide, it is hard to find. This is true. We were driving ourselves and took all the turns on every road going towards the lake from Rubeza to Kabeza. There are no direction signs. Finally, after driving back and forth several times, we hired a local cab in Kabeza to lead us there. Simple then. When you are heading south and cross the Mugere River, there is a right turn at the top of the hill into what looks like a driveway for the little house there. There is a sign that says Livingstone-Stanley SnackBar 300 meters down the highway but doesn't mention the Monument which is around behind the back and through the yard of the house. Not a well used road. We must have missed the gold inscription. The view and overlook of the river and lake are nice. I would have camped there also.
So if anyone else knows the story of how the Stone got there and where it came from, I would love to know. It is obviously an erratic and came from somewhere else. I won't believe space ships or levitation.
Also, if anyone knows why they have always used Livingstone's last name and Stanley (Rowland)'s first name, I would love that story as well.
Interesting excursion from Butare(Huye) Rwanda for the weekend.
Written April 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
97Rolf
Oslo, Norway47 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
This huge stone with gold inscription is in commemoration of Dr. Livingstone and Stanley camping here outside Bujumbura. This was not were they first met, which was at Ujji quite some kilometeres farther south. This was probably when they were searching for the source of the Nile. They believed Lake Tanganyika could be the source, alas, the found the Ruzingi river in the northern end of the lake flowing into the lake.
Written March 1, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martha M
Nairobi, Kenya12 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
There is only the stone and in amazing view of the river and the history is interesting as well. To make your visit more rich, visit with a local and interact with the locals. A better way to do this is to talk with the families that live near the stone, they could share their experiences of interacting with different visitors to the stone. Keep an open mind. Happy travels.
Written May 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trinity983
Bujumbura, Burundi2 contributions
Jun 2020
This would have happened on November 25, 1871 in Mugere, about ten kilometers south of Bujumbura on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. A stone (moved) was erected on the spot to immortalize the meeting between the famous scientist David Livingstone and the young reporter Henry Morton Stanley, who went in search of him.
However, this meeting took place a few days earlier, on November 10, in Ujiji, in what is now Tanzania. The place marked by the stone is in fact a place where the two explorers stationed from November 25 to 27, 1871.
However, this meeting took place a few days earlier, on November 10, in Ujiji, in what is now Tanzania. The place marked by the stone is in fact a place where the two explorers stationed from November 25 to 27, 1871.
Written July 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eddie S
Nashville, TN3 contributions
Sep 2013 • Friends
What a great experience to stand where these two great Missionaries met. I had to have a picture for me to share with my grandchildren.
Written September 25, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Virginatraveler
Vienna, VA98 contributions
Aug 2012 • Business
No sign from the road but people know where it is. A stone pillar and nice view of the lake, but not worth visiting unless you are just passing by.
Written November 20, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hugh73Brussels
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium98 contributions
Nov 2019
I happened to be passing so I called in to see the monument. A young goatherd tried to charge us BIF 3000 to go in. I admire his enterprise but the locals I was with were having none of it. It was a nice thing to do but the road that leads there is very congested, so I would not recommend making the trip specially.
Written November 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marcel_C_ZH
Zurich, Switzerland555 contributions
Sep 2019
The stone itself is nothing that I had to see; interesting story behind it but the best was the view to the city and lake from the hill
Written September 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ali Vazir - BB Health Tours
Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo558 contributions
Jun 2018 • Business
The Livingstone–Stanley Monument at Mugere in Burundi is 12 km south of the capital Bujumbura, overlooking Lake Tanganyika, and marks a location where explorer and missionary Dr David Livingstone and journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley visited and spent two nights on 25–27 November 1871. In French it is referred to as ‘La Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley’. Some Burundians claim the location is where the famous first meeting of Livingstone and Stanley took place, at which the latter uttered the famous words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?".
However that meeting actually took place in Ujiji in Tanzania on 10 November 1871 as clearly detailed in Stanley's book, "How I Found Livingstone". From their writings, the visit to Mugere appears to be the one on 25–27 November which Livingstone and Stanley described as being one of the most hospitable they enjoyed. The date 25 November 1871 can be seen scratched on the rock. At the Mugere River they found the village of Chief Mukropeans to visit the area, their arrival was memorable, and it must be at some time later the event became confused in some people's minds as the first meeting between Livingstone and Stanley.
However that meeting actually took place in Ujiji in Tanzania on 10 November 1871 as clearly detailed in Stanley's book, "How I Found Livingstone". From their writings, the visit to Mugere appears to be the one on 25–27 November which Livingstone and Stanley described as being one of the most hospitable they enjoyed. The date 25 November 1871 can be seen scratched on the rock. At the Mugere River they found the village of Chief Mukropeans to visit the area, their arrival was memorable, and it must be at some time later the event became confused in some people's minds as the first meeting between Livingstone and Stanley.
Written December 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erik S
11 contributions
Sep 2017 • Friends
Only stop here on your way to the south or back to Bujumbura, no need to make the detour. It has "historical value, but not a beautiful place
Written August 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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