• All About Lamu

“Lamu is a tiny island filled with hot, hot days, perfect sea breezes and empty white-sand beaches. It has crumbling Arabic houses, narrow twisting streets, hectic market places and stunning sunsets – in short it is wonderful”

The Times

Lamu is not a place that much believes much in progress – or indeed in haste of any kind – life is lived at a leisurely pace, and its physical appearance and character have changed very little in centuries. Indeed the island often seems to have been frozen in time about 100 years ago – and remains largely undisturbed by the cares of the 20th Century, much less the 21st.

The historic layout of Lamu’s Old Town remains intact – the same maze of narrow, shady streets – most only wide enough to accommodate a fully-laden donkey – the same coral stone houses and mosques, the same ancient sailing dhows and fishing boats at anchor in the port.

Lamu is just 8 miles long and under 4 miles wide (less than 13 x 6 kilometres) and there are still few cars on the little island (well one or two if you count the District Commissioner’s Land Rover and the occasional tractor) and no real roads to drive them on, and almost all transport is still by sailing dhow or motorboat, donkey or foot.

“The true allure of the town is its otherworldly atmosphere – the look of the alleyways is Arab, the faces are African, the pungent perfume of spice and curry is Indian. The mansions of Omani ivory traders loom like citadels, their doors carved with exquisite ornamental detail and studded with defensive brass spikes. Even the animals have a fairy tale quality – the alley cats resembling those in Egyptian hieroglyphics.”

WSJ

The population and culture of Lamu remain largely Muslim. With more than thirty mosques, the island echoes to the muezzins’ call to prayer five times a day. Men often wear full-length kanzu robes and hand-embroidered kofia caps, and women often wrap themselves in an all-enveloping black buibui. Male visitors are usually very welcome to enter a mosque, as long as they do so in bare feet and with their legs covered by long trousers or a kickoy.

Remote and self-contained Lamu may be, but it has always been a sophisticated, tolerant and hospitable place. Lamu’s distinctive Swahili culture is the result of an intermingling over the centuries of many different influences – African, Arabian, Indian, Persian, European and more – brought to Lamu by merchants, travellers, colonisers and conquerors. Such influences show themselves to this day in Lamu’s religious and social traditions, architecture, furniture, cookery and many other aspects of daily life.

From Vasco da Gama to Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi to Mick Jagger, through the centuries Lamu has always attracted the curious, the celebrated and the cosmopolitan. And in recent years the island has gained a reputation as a low-key hideaway for European royalty and international celebrities. Lamu has always attracted and inspired the spiritual, the creative and the artistic – and the island hosts regular international gatherings of writers and film makers – along with popular and well-attended festivals of yoga and painting every year.

“Where do European jet-setters and grubby backpackers collide? Only on the island of Lamu. With its rich and raffish history as an Arab trading port, its idyllic beaches and its downright bizarre mix of characters, Lamu may just be Africa’s most exotic hideout.”

W Magazine

Just a few of the many other sights, tastes and experiences that make Lamu so special – the first captivating glimpse of town and island across the channel from the airport jetty on neighbouring Manda Island – a sight that never fails to lift the spirits of even the weariest traveller.

Lamu’s famous cats – whose sleek bodies and elfin faces hint at their Egyptian ancestry. The busy, animated street life when the town comes alive in the late afternoon after a long siesta. Wonderful seafood – succulent prawns, lobster, crab, snapper and tuna – all cooked in distinctive Lamu style with coconut and Indian Ocean spices. Mouth-watering fruits – Lamu’s sweet mangos are renowned all along the Kenyan coast.

Sunset cruises – sailing the Lamu Channel in a traditional lateen dhow, watching the moon rise in the East above Manda Island. The balmy climate – warm tropical days and humid nights cooled by the sea breeze. The magic of the huge, starry equatorial night sky – the Milky Way often seems close enough to touch. And most importantly of all – the time and space to slow down and let go with family and friends. In a world that is increasingly homogenized and harried, Lamu makes a wonderfully authentic and unhurried retreat.

“Lamu island’s venerable old town blends Arab and African culture with a sun-baked, siesta-time feel that gives it a wonderfully sedate charm”

Daily Telegraph

Another of the many pleasures of spending time in Lamu is exploring the byways of the historic Old Town, wandering the narrow streets and alleyways and meeting the charming and sometimes highly eccentric inhabitants. There is good shopping for colourful kikoys and kangas, local crafts and more along the town’s main street, one block back from the seafront. Enjoy browsing for Swahili antiques, traditional carved furniture, silver jewellery and other souvenirs – and remember to bargain hard.

Lamu’s waterfront is lined with local cafes and restaurants where you can enjoy delicious juices and milkshakes along with fish and chips or more traditional Swahili fare. More sophisticated places to eat include Lamu House Hotel and Whispers Coffee Shop.

Lamu’s version of Turkish Delight is the delicious, sticky, sweet and fragrant dessert known as halwa – it is well worth seeking out the shop where it is made in ‘downtown’ Langoni beyond the Town Square. An original place to have a drink is the notorious Floating Bar which is moored in the middle of the channel between Lamu and Shela.

“It is at nightfall that Lamu Town becomes even more magical, as shop-owners light up their counters with candles or lanterns, and people bustle about the narrow lanes or sit in the dark chatting in chairs outside their houses, the men wearing white Muslim caps, the children skipping past.”

Huffington Post

Visitors should not miss a visit to the Lamu Museum, which is filled with historical artefacts and insights into the history, culture and archaeology of the region. Lamu Fort dominates the town square, and was built by the Omanis as a garrison in the early 19th century. Used as a prison for many years, it now houses the town’s conservation department and hosts regular photographic and ethnographic exhibitions. Lavish Swahili wedding parties often take place in the courtyard of the fort, and female visitors are usually very welcome to attend.

The Swahili House Museum is a recreation of a traditional small coral stone house built in the early 18th Century and is filled with traditional furniture and decorative plasterwork. Lamu’s grand Riyadah Mosque was built in the late 19th Century by Islamic scholar Habib Swaleh and is the focus for Lamu’s annual Maulidi Celebrations. These commemorate the birth of the Prophet Mohamed, attracting pilgrims from all over East Africa and the wider Islamic World.

Lamu has been called the ‘Donkey Capital of Africa’ – there are more than 6000 of the animals on the island (and a human population of around 25,000). Donkeys are an important means of transport for both people and goods around the town and the island – and any which are taken ill are treated at The Donkey Sanctuary on the seafront in Lamu Town.

Riotous donkey and dhow races take place during Lamu’s popular annual Swahili Cultural Festival which celebrates every aspect of the Swahili way of life – including concerts of taarab music from Mombasa and Zanzibar, demonstrations of traditional arts, crafts, dances and cooking – plus films and talks on Swahili history and civilisation.

“Shela is like Marrakech on the beach – talcum-soft sand, maze-like alleyways filled with the scent of spices and ancient dhows bobbing on the Indian Ocean…”

The Guardian

Sleepy yet sophisticated, Shela Village is probably the most relaxing and seductive place you will every visit. Sitting two miles south of Lamu Town, where the channel meets the ocean, Shela has a languid, undisturbed atmosphere all its own. Only a generation or two ago Shela was being described as something of a ghost town, but in past decades numerous ravishing holiday homes and guest houses have been built along the village’s pretty waterfront and jumble of narrow sandy streets.

The centre of Shela social life is the near-legendary Peponi Hotel – no one should miss out on a drink in the bar (do try the house cocktail the ‘Old Pal’), lunch in its pretty courtyard restaurant or dinner in the elegant dining room. Beyond Peponi the island’s main beach stretches almost as far as the eye can see – miles and miles of empty white sand facing the Indian Ocean backed by magnificent dunes.

Most visitors to Shela are lulled into a sense of blissful indolence, content to stroll along the beach, browse in one of the village’s attractive boutiques – Aman Lamu, Jannah Boutique and Lulu Stories are recommended – enjoy a drink or two at Peponi, or simply to subside on a shady rooftop with a book and enjoy the rhythms of the day.

For the more energetic, deep-sea fishing, scuba-diving, sea-kayaking, windsurfing and water-skiing are all available. For the less energetic, a sunset dhow cruise around the channel – perhaps with another drink or two and a basket of delicious ‘bitings’ – should not be missed.

“The eight-mile crescent of Lamu Beach runs south from the Swahili village of Shela. The dawn walk along the water’s edge to breakfast at Kizingo Lodge is a rare chance to explore a virgin Indian Ocean beachscape. Translucent pink crabs scuttle into the sea, sand dollars litter the beach like confetti and birdsong drifts from the dunes beyond.”

‘The World’s Best Beaches’ Daily Telegraph

Matandoni and Kipungani are the only other settlements on Lamu Island – both are sleepy fishing and farming villages on the island’s west coast. Beyond Kipungani and close to the south western tip of the island is beautiful Kizingoni Beach home to a collection of discreetly luxurious private villas and a couple of lovely low-key beachfront lodges. The channel between Kizingoni and the mainland is ideal for kite surfing and other watersports.

Manda Island is Lamu’s nearest neighbour – its dense, bushy interior quite different to Lamu’s more open landscape. Manda is known for its wonderful bird life and attracts wildlife from the mainland too – it is home to variety of animals, from monkeys, antelopes and anteaters to a herd of buffalo and even the occasional elephant and lion.

At Ras Kitau, Manda’s long sandy beach looks across the channel to Shela and is a popular place to swim and sunbathe. Here Manda Beach is home to a variety of enticing beachfront holiday homes as well as the The Majlis Resort – a stylish Italian-owned hotel with restaurant and bar.

The ocean-facing beach on the eastern shore of Manda is often the site of baby turtle hatchings and Lamu Marine Conservation Trust, based at Peponi in Shela, is involved in turtle protection and other local conservation projects. On the northern tip of the island is Manda Bay – a remote and relaxing beach lodge renowned for it’s excellent deep sea fishing and wealth of water sports.

“This is a luminous world – half sea, half sky, divided by low horizons of dunes, mangrove creeks, deserted beaches and coral reefs… its waters the haunt of turtles, pelicans, dugongs and whale sharks.”

Daily Telegraph

Manda is also home to the beautiful Takwa Ruins – the ancient remains of a Swahili town deserted in the 17th Century – accessed along a tiny channel through the mangroves which fringe much of the island. The ruins are highly atmospheric, particularly in the late afternoon light and make a memorable dhow-excursion from Lamu or Shela. On the ocean side of Manda, through the narrow Mkanda channel (‘the belt’), pretty little Manda Toto (‘baby Manda’) Island is a nice place to swim, snorkel and picnic.

A few miles north of Manda lies fascinating Pate Island – remote, inaccessible and archaic even by Lamu standards. A trip to Pate is a worthwhile adventure and gives an insight into how life was lived in the archipelago in centuries past. Once an important town in its own right and rival to Lamu, Pate Town was founded in the early days of Islam and settled by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. On its outskirts are the Nabahani Ruins – the remains of an ancient Arab Town abandoned in the early 19th Century. Pate’s livelihood now relies on fishing and the cultivation of tobacco and bananas.

At Siyu, in the centre of Pate Island, once an important centre for Islamic scholarship, silk weaving and other crafts, there is an impressive Omani Fort, recently restored by the National Museums of Kenya, and some interesting domed tombs. Close to the South East coast of the island lie the extensive Shanga Ruins. The sleepy villages of Faza and Kisingitini on the island’s North coast are local centres of dhow-building and lobster fishing.

Further north still is the Robinson Crusoe-style desert island of Kiwayu – a long thin sliver of empty beach and deserted sand dunes. It is home to the utterly laid-back and hedonistic Mike’s Camp – there can be few more remote and romantic places to stay on the whole coast of Africa.