The beaches of Diani are famous for white sand and turquoise water, and a short walk inland a forest that is older than the hotels keeps its own rules. Kaya Kinondo is the last sizeable fragment of the coastal forest that once covered the southern coast of Kenya, and for the Digo people it is a sacred grove, the place where their ancestors settled and where the elders still perform ceremonies. It is one of the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, inscribed in 2008, and it differs from some of the others in having a well-organised community programme, run by the Digo elders, which lets visitors in with a guide.
The rules are part of the experience. Visitors are asked to leave shoes, bags and cameras at the entrance, women are asked to wear a traditional wrap over their trousers or shorts, and everyone follows the elder along a narrow path. Inside, the forest is dark, cool and quiet, with tall trees, lianas and a rich growth of mosses, and you are told which trees are used as medicine and which are sacred. The forest is home to black-and-white colobus monkeys, bush babies, butterflies and rare plants, and the Diani coast is one of the few places where the Angolan colobus is still common.
Reaching the kaya is a good coastal ride. From Mombasa you cross the Likoni ferry, a crowded, noisy, but efficient service that carries vehicles and thousands of walking passengers across the harbour channel, and then follow the main road south through palm groves, baobabs and small markets. The road is busy with trucks, buses and tuk-tuks, so ride with full attention, and avoid riding after dark, when pedestrians and animals are hard to see. The coast is hot and humid all year, with a rainy period in April and May, and the cooler dry months from June to October are most pleasant.
Gazi and Sawa Sawa are small towns on the coast, and Ukunda, near Diani Beach, has petrol stations, shops, restaurants and cash machines. The coast's Swahili cooking, with coconut rice, grilled fish, and sweet, spicy tea, is a pleasure after a day on the road.