Kaya Jibana and Fort Jesus starting at Mariakani

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.

2. 2. Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests

   Along the Kenyan coast, behind the resort hotels and the palm-lined beaches, there are scraps of forest that matter more to local people than almost any building. These are the kaya, the sacred forests of the Mijikenda, a group of nine related peoples including the Giriama and Digo, who say their ancestors settled in fortified villages hidden in the woods. Each kaya was a clearing in the trees, with a ring of defence and a set of elders who held the village's laws and ceremonies, and when the villages were abandoned, the forests were kept as places of prayer and burial.

   Read the complete Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort Jesus.

3. 3. Fort Jesus

   Fort Jesus stands at the edge of Mombasa island looking out over the entrance to the old harbour, its thick coral-stone walls glowing ochre in the late afternoon. The Portuguese built it at the end of the sixteenth century, to a design by the Italian military architect Giovanni Battista Cairati, to secure their hold on the Swahili coast and the Indian Ocean trade. It changed hands repeatedly over the next two centuries, most famously after a siege by Omani Arab forces that lasted almost three years at the end of the 1690s, and later served as a prison. Since 2011 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the museum inside tells the story of the coast and its many rulers.

   Read the complete Fort Jesus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort Jesus. Next is back through Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.

4. 4. back through Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, late in the day. Next is Kaya Jibana.

5. 5. Kaya Jibana

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   Back at Kaya Jibana. That is the ride.