Why this ride
216 km from Mombasa to Mombasa, about 5 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Kaya Ribe, The Duruma Kayas, Kaya Kambe and Kaya Jibana.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mombasa afternoon · Kaya Jibana
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 216 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mombasa
Mombasa is an island, and that single fact explains its history. A small coral island lies between two inlets on Kenya's coast, joined to the mainland by causeways and a bridge, with a deep natural harbour that made it one of the great ports of the Indian Ocean. Arab, Persian, Indian and Portuguese traders came here for centuries, bringing cloth, spices and slaves and leaving behind a coastal Swahili culture that mixes African and Arab elements.
Read the complete Mombasa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mombasa is where the day begins. Next is Kaya Ribe.
2. Kaya Ribe
Kaya Ribe is one of a string of sacred forests that sit on the low hills behind Kenya's coast, and the reason it exists says a lot about the people here. The Mijikenda, nine related communities, settled this coastal hinterland several centuries ago and built fortified villages, the kayas, in the forest. Today the village huts are mostly gone, but the forests remain, protected by councils of elders who treat them as the home of ancestors. A scatter of these kayas, Ribe among them, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Kaya Ribe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kaya Ribe comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Duruma Kayas.
3. The Duruma Kayas
Inland from Mombasa, where the coastal plain begins to climb towards the dry bush of the interior, small islands of dense forest stand out from the farmland and scrub. These are kayas, the sacred forests of the Mijikenda peoples, and the Duruma kayas belong to one of the nine Mijikenda groups. Together with others along the coast they were inscribed in 2008 as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.
Read the complete The Duruma Kayas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach The Duruma Kayas. Next is Kaya Kambe.
4. Kaya Kambe
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.
Read the complete Kaya Kambe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kaya Kambe, about halfway. Next is Kaya Jibana.
5. Kaya Jibana
A kaya is a sacred forest, and for the Mijikenda peoples of the Kenyan coast it was once much more: a fortified hilltop village hidden in the trees, a place of ancestral graves, ceremonies and council. Kaya Jibana, belonging to the Jibana community, sits in the hills inland from the coast between Mombasa and Kilifi, and it is one of a group of kaya forests listed by UNESCO in 2008. People no longer live inside, but elders still guard it, and entry is regulated by customs that visitors should respect: guides, permission, and no cutting or taking.
Read the complete Kaya Jibana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kaya Jibana sits at 77 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kaya Kambe.
6. back through Kaya Kambe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kaya Kambe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kaya Kambe comes up about 123 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The Duruma Kayas.
7. back through The Duruma Kayas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Duruma Kayas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 156 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The Duruma Kayas. Next is back through Kaya Ribe.
8. back through Kaya Ribe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kaya Ribe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kaya Ribe, late in the day. Next is Mombasa.
9. Mombasa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mombasa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 216 km.
Leg by leg
Mombasa to Kaya Ribe
Mombasa → Kaya Ribe is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Ribe to The Duruma Kayas
Kaya Ribe → The Duruma Kayas is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Duruma Kayas to Kaya Kambe
The Duruma Kayas → Kaya Kambe is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Kambe to Kaya Jibana
Kaya Kambe → Kaya Jibana is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Jibana to back through Kaya Kambe
Kaya Jibana → back through Kaya Kambe is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kaya Kambe to back through The Duruma Kayas
back through Kaya Kambe → back through The Duruma Kayas is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Duruma Kayas to back through Kaya Ribe
back through The Duruma Kayas → back through Kaya Ribe is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kaya Ribe to Mombasa
back through Kaya Ribe → Mombasa is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.