Why this ride
From Mariakani it runs 95 km to Mariakani; allow about 2 h 37 of riding. It goes by way of Kaya Jibana, Kaya Giriama and back through Kaya Jibana. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Rabai Kayas and Kaya Giriama
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 95 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 37
- 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. 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 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 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kaya Giriama.
3. Kaya Giriama
Behind the beaches of Kenya's north coast, on the low red ridges inland from Kilifi, sit a string of forest patches that look like nothing much from the road. They are the kayas, once the fortified villages of the Mijikenda peoples, the nine related groups that include the Giriama, and today they are the sacred groves where elders still gather. The Kaya Giriama forest is one of them, and part of a UNESCO listing that covers several of these remnants of coastal forest. The village huts were long ago abandoned and the clearings overgrown, but the grove survives because it is protected by custom, so that cutting a tree or entering without permission is a serious matter.
Read the complete Kaya Giriama write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Kaya Giriama. 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 The Rabai Kayas.
5. The Rabai Kayas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at The Rabai Kayas. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Rabai Kayas to Kaya Jibana
The Rabai Kayas → Kaya Jibana is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Jibana to Kaya Giriama
Kaya Jibana → Kaya Giriama is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaya Giriama to back through Kaya Jibana
Kaya Giriama → back through Kaya Jibana is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kaya Jibana to The Rabai Kayas
back through Kaya Jibana → The Rabai Kayas is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.