Inland from the Kenyan coast, behind the sugar-white beaches and the hotel strip, lie forests where the Mijikenda people have kept their sacred places for centuries. Kaya Kambe is one of them, a fragment of the old coastal forest around a clearing where the elders once had their fortified village, the kaya, and where they still hold ceremonies and settle disputes. The Mijikenda, whose name means nine homesteads, are nine related peoples, among them the Giriama, Digo, Rabai and Kambe, who by tradition migrated south from a place called Shungwaya a few hundred years ago and made these hilltop forests their strongholds. A group of the kayas was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2008.
The forests matter for nature as much as for culture, because the surrounding land has been cleared for farms, and the kayas, protected by custom, preserve some of the last patches of the ancient coastal forest of East Africa. They hold rare trees, birds and butterflies, and the ritual rule that nobody should cut wood or clear land without permission has been the best conservation tool on the coast.
Visiting is a matter of respect. The kayas are living sacred places, and you should arrange access through the local committee or an authorised guide, follow the rules on dress, shoes and photography, and never wander in alone. Women may be asked to cover their legs and everyone may be asked to leave certain items outside.
The ride from Mombasa runs along the main highway towards Nairobi, which is busy with heavy trucks, buses, and overtaking, and needs full attention at every moment. Go early, keep your lights on, and expect sudden speed bumps in the villages. Mariakani, a town of about thirteen thousand people, is the nearest place for fuel and food, and Mombasa, about twenty kilometres away, has everything else, including the old Portuguese Fort Jesus, built in the 1590s, and the narrow lanes of the Old Town. Cashew, mango and coconut trees line the side roads, and in the dry season the red dust coats everything. The coolest time is early in the day, and the long rains of April and May can turn the side tracks to mud.