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Attractions in Lamu County

35. Ras Kitau

Although the beaches along Manda channel on either side are truly alluring and offer endless chances to enjoy sun, sand and relaxation they are not, strangely enough, a place to get away from it all. On the southern end of Manda Island is Ras Kitau Beach, a quiet, most pristine combination of rolling sand dunes and a truly untouched slice of paradise. Like its opposite-number beach at Manda Bay and Manda Toto Island in the northern end of Manda island, Ras Kitau boasts a staggering amount of sand and extensive spread of open ocean views. The few visitors who do make it here are thinned out even further by the wide coastline. Likewise, its omens are its desolation, giving an impression of bleak emptiness, with no resorts and outlets to rest and refresh. Still and all, ‘owning land in Ras Kitau is a nightmare, especially for the poor, as an acre here goes for millions of shillings, which is way above the rates in other parts of the region’. Hidden from view, it’s a dog’s life for the locals amid plenty for Ras Kitau’s latter-day serfs. A big population of the poor here are quarry workers and fishermen, with a just a few working for restaurant and hotel owners. The hotel workers, too, live from hand to mouth. It is accessible from the Majlis, who organize water sports and activities for guests here on a walking trip, or from Shela on a short boating trip.

36. Diamond Beach Village, Manda

Every Thursday evening from 7:30 pm there is pizza and movie night at hotel Diamond Beach Village on Manda Island. “Definitely an activity you don’t want to miss out on! They show quirky, art-house movies and bake delicious brick oven pizzas. In advance, you can take a yoga class at 17.00. It takes you only 10-20 minutes to get here from Shela or Lamu by dhow (local sailboat)”. Diamond Beach Village, Manda, is a family eco lodge that has been running for 20 years, started in 2000 by Cornish artist Helen Feiler and run by her daughter Rachael.

37. The Majlis Resort

This sits roughly between Peponi Hotel and Fort at Shela on the Manda side, between an ever-growing chain of resorts along this prime area. There’s every reason to visit Lamu for anyone who loves history, great philosophy, culture, music and arts; or for anyone who simply wants to get lost in a timeless island with an authentic and honest-to-goodness delight. The way of life in Lamu has gone untouched for almost 700 years. The middle-upper budget Majlis Resort, with 25 exquisite deluxe rooms and suites divided into three beachfront villas, is the debonair Swahili designed retreat which caters luxuriously for holiday-makers who fancy a little splendor in this timeless paradise. Other amenities at the Majlis include; two bars and two swimming pools. Some of the top activities here include Lamu Dhow Adventure, Swahili cooking classes, a Maasai Warrior Experience, jungle gym, cycling trip, and snorkeling trips to Manda Toto Island.

38. Takwa Ruins

At the south-eastern edge of Manda Island, 2 kms east of the Majlis Hotel, atop a low hill, sits the famed Takwa Ruins which, according to James Kirkman, who first excavated the site, belongs to the 16th-17th Centuries. As with many adage centres along the Swahili Coast, Takwa was deserted mysteriously in the 17th Century, presumably for the lack of fresh water. The Pate chronicles claim that the towns at Manda Island succumbed to the power of Pate and a section of the inhabitants escaped across the creek to Lamu Island. The story is continued in the Lamu chronicle which tell that although the people of Lamu were prepared to give them shelter they did not, however, permit them to build their houses of stone. Takwa Ruins have the remains of a large mosque; above its mihrab is a pillar. The feature appears once more in the 15 Century domed mosque of Kilwa where the stone pillar is fluted. There are remains of a second town just east of Takwa. The center of interest at Takwa is the stone column about 2.5 ms high at the northern end. There are didactic panels at the site providing plenty of useful information for travellers to the ruins courtesy of National Museums of Kenya. Takwa Ruins are approached from the mainland (Shela or Lamu) via a narrow mangrove fringed channel into Manda Island. Allow yourself at least two hours to get to the ruins, although many a travel writer insist the boat tour and walk takes an hour. Once at the jetty, there is a raised boardwalk leading to the ruins.

39. Manda Island

For first-time trippers to Lamu County, sailing across the channel from Manda Island to Lamu Island is resonant with how the earliest traders, explorers and adventurers arrived here centuries ago. The short but surreal ride abode a local jahazis to old town, or to its islands, is a universal welcome to the exotic Lamu.  Manda Island on the other hand, with its empty sandy beach, remains sparsely populated with a number of resorts along the Manda-Lamu Channel. Once the site of three thriving towns in eons past, Manda’s long and short story is easily demonstrable in the numerous and elaborate ancient ruins scattered across it. In point of fact, the earliest known Swahili site is that of the 9th Century town of Manda which was excavated by Neville Chittick in 1966. He also uncovered 10th Century houses built of square coral blocks in rough courses with mud and lime mortar. There is evidence of 9th and 10th Century trade with Iran. Parts of the seaward wall of the town, built of large coral blocks weighing up to one ton, have survived. In his view, Chittick’s thought this was the creation of colonizers from overseas. “This, if correct, confirms a reference by Al-Mas’udi to Muslim settlers to the Coast in the 8th Century”. Manda Island, hosting Manda Airport, is separated from Lamu Island (west) by the 700 ms Manda-Lamu Channel and from Pate Island (northeast) by a 5 kms channel. The shores of Lamu, Manda and Pate Island and the area along Kiunga Reserve are extensively covered with mangroves except in a few places that are directly exposed to the Indian Ocean.

40. Manda Toto Island

One of the treasured activities on a long day out sailing in Lamu is snorkeling and swimming at the Manda Toto and Kinyika Reefs immediately northeast of the larger Manda Island. A motorized boat will get there in under 2-hours from either Lamu or Shela or for double the price and half the time a speed boat can be hired. The largest of the archipelago (islands) are Pate Island, Manda Island and Lamu Island, all closely linked. Smaller islands include Kinyika, Kiwayu that lie within Kiunga Marine National Reserve. Manda Toto, Faza, Kizingitini, Mtangawanda among many other small islands are only tens of meters wide. To save one of the best coral reefs in the archipelago, at Manda Toto Island, buoys have been put in the snorkeling area to prevent breaking of coral. And as it is a breeding area, a fishing ban has been put in place using Pate and Shanga as the protectors. Across from Manda Toto, on Manda Island, sits the long-standing Manda Bay Resort; a small boutique lodge located on the tip of an idyllic island.