Things to Do in Rumbek

Friday livestock market

The ground vibrates with lowing cattle and bleating goats. Herders negotiate deals through elaborate hand-clasping rituals. You'll see long-horned cattle decorated with beads and brass bells. Their hides gleam in the morning sun while the air fills with dust and the sharp scent of animal dung. The market spreads across a wide field where Dinka men in red-checked blankets debate prices over cups of thick coffee.

Rumbek Cathedral

Morning light streams through blue stained glass onto rough-hewn wooden pews. Worshippers sing in Dinka, Arabic and English. The cathedral's thick stone walls keep the interior surprisingly cool. You might catch the faint smell of incense mixing with the beeswax candles local women sell outside. During Sunday service, the harmonized singing carries across the compound. Children play under mango trees.

Traditional cattle camp visit

A forty-minute drive from town, you'll find camps where white cattle with enormous horns sleep in thorn enclosures. Their hides are smoked daily to keep off flies. The herders show visitors how they make yogurt in gourds. They might let you try the sour, slightly smoky milk they live on. Evening brings the musical sound of cattle bells as boys guide the herds home. Their silhouettes stand sharp against the setting sun.

Rumbek Central Market

The covered section smells of dried fish, peanuts and the particular mustiness of secondhand clothes baled from Europe. Women pound sorghum into flour while mechanics rebuild motorcycle engines on cardboard in the shade. You'll hear the rhythmic thwack of meat cleavers as butchers hack up goat carcasses. The electronic beep of money transfer services competes with traditional drumming from a nearby bar.

Lake Yirol boat trip

The road east deteriorates into red dust before opening onto vast Lake Yirol. Fishermen pole wooden canoes through papyrus reeds. Pelicans skim the water while you taste the slight saltiness that distinguishes this lake from others in the region. The hour-long trip passes floating islands where fishermen camp. They cook freshly-caught tilapia over small fires that send sweet smoke across the water.

Hai Cinema neighborhood. Guesthouses clustered near the old cinema. Reasonably quiet after 10pm.

Near Rumbek University. Newer concrete buildings with generators that work.

Old Airport Road. Simple rooms above family compounds. You'll wake to roosters and morning prayers.

Market area - convenient but noisy until midnight, bring earplugs

Cathedral compound - basic church-run guesthouse, surprisingly peaceful

Eastern outskirts - pricier but generators run longer during power cuts