Why this ride
95 km from Kilifi to Kilifi, about 3 h 01 of riding. On the way it passes Kaya Jibana, Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests and back through Kaya Jibana.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kaya Kauma and Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 95 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 01
- 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 Kauma
The kayas are patches of forest scattered along the coast of Kenya, each one once the fortified village of a Mijikenda community, hidden deep in the trees for protection. The Mijikenda, nine related peoples of the coastal hinterland, later moved out of the forests, but the kayas remained sacred places, where elders held ceremonies, buried their leaders and made decisions, and where cutting trees or harming the forest was forbidden. That protection has preserved precious remnants of coastal forest, rich in rare plants and animals. In 2008, a group of them, including Kaya Kauma near Kilifi, was listed by UNESCO as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.
Read the complete Kaya Kauma write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kaya Kauma is where the day begins. Next is Kaya Jibana.
2. 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 comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.
3. 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
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests. Next is back through Kaya Jibana.
4. back through 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 through Kaya Jibana, late in the day. Next is Kaya Kauma.
5. Kaya Kauma
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kaya Kauma write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kaya Kauma. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kaya Kauma to Kaya Jibana
Kaya Kauma → Kaya Jibana is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Jibana to Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests
Kaya Jibana → Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests to back through Kaya Jibana
Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests → back through Kaya Jibana is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kaya Jibana to Kaya Kauma
back through Kaya Jibana → Kaya Kauma is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.