Why this ride
185 km from Mariakani to Mariakani, about 3 h 20 of riding. It goes by way of The Duruma Kayas, Kaya Kinondo and back through The Duruma Kayas. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kaya Kambe and Kaya Kinondo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 185 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 20
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is The Duruma Kayas.
2. 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
The Duruma Kayas comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kaya Kinondo.
3. Kaya Kinondo
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.
Read the complete Kaya Kinondo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Kaya Kinondo. Next is back through The Duruma Kayas.
4. 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
back through The Duruma Kayas, late in the day. Next is Kaya Kambe.
5. 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 at Kaya Kambe. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kaya Kambe to The Duruma Kayas
Kaya Kambe → The Duruma Kayas is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Duruma Kayas to Kaya Kinondo
The Duruma Kayas → Kaya Kinondo is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Kinondo to back through The Duruma Kayas
Kaya Kinondo → back through The Duruma Kayas is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Duruma Kayas to Kaya Kambe
back through The Duruma Kayas → Kaya Kambe is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.