Mijikenda Kaya Forests

Mijikenda Sacred Forests turned out to be one of the trickier ones to plan a visit to on your own. There are few helpful reviews or other visitor information online — and most available information focuses on Kaya Kinondo, which, as Els pointed out, isn’t part of the UNESCO inscription.

So our plan was to just to go to one and hope we could figure things out as we went. We had our own vehicle and set off from Mida Creek/Watamu in the morning, Our plan was to try for a visit to one out of three of the kayas located in a row, closest to Mombasa.

Our first stop was Kaya Kambe. The forest itself — a dense green forest on a hill, easy to spot as it stands out from surrounding agricultural land. But there were no signs or visitor information. We asked around in the nearby village and were eventually directed to one of the forest keepers, who showed up after a short wait.

We politely asked if it was possible to visit the forest. He hesitated, saying he wished we had called ahead so he could have prepared a proper visit. He mentioned his number could be found via the Kilifi Museum.

Still, he was a kind and welcoming man and simply said: “Okay, let’s go!”

We walked with him into the forest, arriving at a cluster of small huts used for preparing rituals and gatherings. He explained the significance of the kaya. He told us …

The Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests along the East Coast of Kenya comprise former fortified settlements (kayas) in an undisturbed forest setting, which still fulfill a sacred role in the belief of Mijikenda peoples. It's such a messy WHS: it is what you get after an AB overrule where the documents haven’t been adjusted to the final decision. When I started preparing for my June 2025 visit, I found out that we had its site history and name (it starts with “Sacred”) all wrong, a rare occurrence nowadays. Originally, it had 36 locations, now there are 8 according to the map section at the UNESCO website, but that’s an error also. Kaya Kinondo was explicitly excluded in the inscription decision. I have alerted the UNESCO WH Bureau to the mistake, but never got a reply and the error persists.

Instead of Kaya Kinondo, which is an easy-to-access site just outside the popular beach resort of Diani Beach, I had to find another Kaya suitable for a visit. All remaining Kayas lie north of Mombasa, so that city or one of the northern coastal towns, such as Watamu, are the best bases. Kaya Kauma stood out immediately as it welcomes visitors regularly as well. I went there on a private half-day tour from Mombasa with Diani Summer Tours.

Kaya Kauma is managed by the Council of Elders of the Kauma people, one of the nine groups that together are known as the Mijikenda. It lies about a 2-hour drive …

The Mijikenda Kayas are a beautiful environmental and cultural sanctuary. The sacredness of the sites is incredible and visitors are not allowed to venture into certain areas but the birds and the trees make you see nature at its best. The serenity and religious awe of the sites is thrilling and I was very privileged to partake of it. There are no entry fees but a guide has to come from the nearby villages. Once in Mombasa Kenya, one can find their way to the sites which are scattered in Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa through a local tour operator. I recommend visiting the Fort Jesus museum for more information. You will definetly appreciate the calmness of the Kayas after the hustle and bustle of typical tourist zones.