Lake Bunyonyi ("Place of many little birds") lies in south western
Uganda between
Kisoro and
Kabale close to the border with
Rwanda. Located at 1,962 m (6,437 ft) above sea level, it is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and 7 km (1.35 mi) wide. The depth of the lake is rumored to vary between 44 m (144 ft) and 900 m (2,952 ft), which if true would make the lake the second deepest in
Africa. It is one of the few lakes in the region that is rumored to be free of
bilharzia and safe for swimming, however, this claim is not verifiable and patrons of the lake have tested positive as recently as 2012. The lake appears on the 5,000 Ugandan shilling note under the title "Lake Bunyonyi and terraces".