Kaya Kinondo and The Rabai Kayas

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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

   Kaya Kinondo is where the day begins. Next is Fort Jesus.

2. 2. 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

   Fort Jesus comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.

3. 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 84 km into the recorded legs you reach Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests. Next is Kaya Jibana.

4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is The Rabai Kayas.

5. 5. The Rabai Kayas

   Behind Mombasa, a short ride inland, the coastal plain lifts into the red Rabai hills, and in the forest on their slopes sit the kayas. These are the sacred forest groves of the Mijikenda people, nine related peoples who say their ancestors came from a legendary homeland called Shungwaya. Each kaya was a fortified village in the forest, with a council of elders, and the groves are still looked after for ritual and burial. Several kayas are protected as a World Heritage site, and the Rabai group is one of the best known.

   Read the complete The Rabai Kayas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The Rabai Kayas sits at 113 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kaya Jibana.

6. 6. 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 comes up about 165 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests.

7. 7. 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

   about 188 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests. Next is back through Fort Jesus.

8. 8. back through Fort Jesus

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   back through Fort Jesus, late in the day. Next is Kaya Kinondo.

9. 9. Kaya Kinondo

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   The route ends here after 265 km.