LAMU

Lamu is a place like no other, a peaceful tropical island where life is lived at its own relaxed rhythm, but a place whose history is as mysterious and fascinating as the winding streets of its medieval stone town.
The town of Lamu began life as a 14th century Swahili settlement, but the island has seen many visitors and influences, including Portuguese explorers, Turkish traders and the Omani Arabs. All left their mark, but Lamu developed its own particular culture, which has ultimately endured.
Lamu's narrow streets remain unchanged, and in the markets and squares around the fort life moves at the same pace as it always has. There are no vehicles on this island, and the donkey and the dhow remain the dominant form of transport. The people of Lamu are great believers in tradition and custom, and this is a strong society built on a respect for the past.
For the traveller, Lamu is a hypnotically exotic experience, made even more enjoyable by the relaxed and welcoming attitudes of the locals. To visit Lamu is to enter another world, and the visitor finds themselves becoming a part of this world.

GETTIN TO LAMU

Lamu is best accessed by air. There are scheduled flights daily from Nairobi, Mombasa, Diani Beach and Malindi. The island is serviced by an airstrip on neighbouring Manda Island. The strip can also be used by private charters. A dhow ferries arriving passengers to either Lamu town or Shella. Many yachts also come to Lamu, often sheltering in the channel near Shella.

GETTING AROUND LAMU ISLAND

There are no vehicles on Lamu. The winding streets of the towns are best explored on foot. Shela village and the beaches are also accessible by foot. Alternatively dhows regularly carry paying passengers back and forth from Lamu town to Shella. To access the surrounding islands of Manda, Pate or Siyu, either take an organized Dhow Safari or for the adventurous traveller, just hitch a ride on a passing dhow and explore. It is also possible to hire donkeys to ride around the island.

Siyu Fort

Siyu Fort is located in Siyu, one of the Swahili settlements in the Lamu archipelago. The town dates back to at least the 15th century. The present village of Siyu is still known for its well-established leather craft, including sandals, belts and stools. It became famous in the late 19th century, when it resisted Omani domination, culminating in the building of the Fort as an effort by the Omani Arabs to subdue the residents of Siyu.

Takwa

The ruins of Takwa are located on Manda Island, a 30 minute boat ride from Lamu town.
Takwa ruins are the remains of a thriving 15th and 16th century Swahili trading town before it was abandoned in the 17th century. It is not only important because of its period of occupation but also because of its dense settlement and it’s relatively well preserved remains.
The unique Friday Mosque with a large pillar a top the qibla wall is among the most notable features. This pillar is believed to symbolize the burial of a Sheikh below the wall. The position of the site at the narrowest location on the whole island was most probably a strategy. Takwa's position/location with shallow waters must have been of considerable importance especially during its peak, when many of the sails that came into view were likely to be hostile. Therefore access to the site must have been primarily from the shallow channel which could only admit vessels of shallow draft.
Takwa's eventual abandonment in the 17th century was possibly due to salination of the once fresh water and fighting between Takwa and Pate people. These ruins were gazetted as a National Monument in 1982.

KIUNGA MARINE NATIONAL RESERVE IN LAMU

The 250 sq. Km National marine Park is managed by Kenya Wildlife Services.
The low tide is best to make a trip. Floating slowly over the coral beds you get to see brilliantly coloured marine fishes of bizarre shapes, spiny fish urchins, brightly hued seas slugs, crabs and starfish.
The coral reefs are home to over 140 species of hard and soft corals. Their symbiotic relationship with the chlorophyll generating plants gives the corals their spectacular night-time

phosphorescent colours. The reef plays a diverse role. As well as bio-diversity strongholds, they are breeding grounds for fish and other marine life, a vital barrier against the force of the sea, protecting marine organisms and tourist recreation, they keep out dangerous sharks common to the deeper waters, and their colour and the exotic coral fish they support provides a major attraction for tourists.

CLIMATE: HOT AND HUMID

AIRSTRIP: One in Dodori National Reserve

EMERGRNCY: Warden lamu

DODORI NATIONAL RESERVE IN LAMU

The 877 sq Km National reserve is managed by Kenya Wildlife Services.
Dodori National Reserve was opened in 1976 to preserve a breeding ground for the East Lamu Topi, pelicans and with other local birdlife. Covering 877sq kms with views of Dodori River and creek outlet with the densest, most varied species of mangrove forest in Kenya. Lion, Lesser Kudu, giraffe and hippo are also common to this Reserve.
Birds already noted are palmut vulture, Southern branded harrier eagle, honey buzzard, brown hooded kingfisher, European and carmine bee-eaters, brown breasted barbet and violet breasted sunbird There is no accomodation in this park.

AIRSTRIP: One
EMERGENCY: Warden Lamu.
CLIMATE: Hot and Humid.
ACTIVITIES: Game Viewing.

Lamu & the Lamu Archipelago

Lamu is a town, an island and an archipelago. Throughout the archipelago there are numerous historical sites; visible and tangible evidence of ten centuries of a colourful, and often violent, past. Most of these settlements are Arab in origin and started as small trading stations. As these small colonies grew they absorbed much from the local people and a distinct Afro-Arab culture emerged. This culture, which came to be known as Swahili today, dominates not only Lamu but the urban centres of Mombasa and Malindi and its language has become the principal lingua franca of East and Central Africa.

No one comes to Lamu only for the beach. The town is now well known for a delightful anachronism carrying on its daily life as it has done for centuries so that the visitor has a science fiction experience of being transported back through time. Settlement dates back to the 14th century and by the 19th Lamu was a flourishing trading community. But labour emigration and a fall in value of its exports brought, in the early days of this century, an end to its heyday.

There are still many manifestations of the elegant, refined life led by the richer folk in past eras. If you can be shown the interiors of some of the grander mansions, from the outside appearing both formidable and similar, you will find enormously intricate plasterwork unknown in the rest of Islam. The architecture is admirably suited to the climate - a series of open plan galleries almost always without doors, and interior courtyards open to the sky which ensure shade and calm against the tropical sun.
In the centre of the town stands the fort. Built for Omani invaders around 1812 it later became a prison and is now a cultural centre operated through the museum.

The building is on the waterfront, occupying a house once the home and office of colonial district commissioners. Before that it had housed Queen Victoria's consul - one Captain Jack Haggard, brother of the more celebrated author of King Solomon's Mines