⚠️ Timetables, opening hours, prices and access conditions may change without notice, for reasons beyond our control (season, weather, decisions by operators, venues or local authorities). Before every trip, check the information with the relevant authorities and service providers.
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001, it is the oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa still inhabited, occupied for more than 700 years.
Official websitewhc.unesco.org→Houses of coral stone and mangrove wood, rooftop terraces and finely carved wooden doors, the emblems of Swahili art.
Museum of the National Museums of Kenya, home to one of the major Swahili collections on the coast.
Official websitemuseums.or.ke→Early 19th-century fort that served as a prison from 1910 to 1984; it is now managed by the Lamu Museum.
Official websitemuseums.or.ke→Remains of an ancient Swahili town amid the vegetation of Manda, reached by boat; ask locally before you go.
Celebration of the Prophet's birth and Lamu's major religious event, drawing pilgrims from all along the coast; the date varies with the Islamic calendar.
Festival held on dates that vary from year to year, with dhow and donkey races, music and Swahili crafts. Check the dates each year.
Sailing dhows still ply the channel, especially at sunset; in the car-free lanes, some 3,000 donkeys carry people and goods.
Grilled fish, crab and locally caught seafood, seasoned with spices from around the Indian Ocean: coastal cooking to enjoy in town and in Shela.