Malindi Tourism and Information Site

Welcome to the premier news and information site for the coastal town of Malindi, Kenya. The site offers tourists’ guide for both local and international tourists as well as news of what is happening within Malindi. With a dedicated team, we provide information and news of what is happening in each and every industry; education, tourism, politics, development, entertainment, sports and lifestyle among others.

Malindi is the biggest town on the North Coast of the Kenyan Shoreline. Just about 120km North of Kenya’s port city of Mombasa. Once a stopover to the world’s greatest explorers like Vasco da Gama, Magellan and Prince Henry the Navigator, becoming a resting point and home to many Portuguese Settlers. The Most Scenic town with warm sandy beaches, High Sand dunes and close to a vibrant River Ecosystem

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3 Reasons Why you should Visit Malindi

CULTURE

Malindi is a town that is rich in different cultural experiences. This can be attributed to elements of Portuguese history, Italian, Arab and other local African Cultures

WELCOMING

It is a friendly city with a cosmopolitan population, welcoming to all visitors and families with children, and open to minorities and alternative lifestyles

SIZE

It is a compact and intimate town, ideal for a short city break or a longer romantic stay, with a lively cafe culture and a nightlife that is one of the most vibrant in the coast of Kenya.

Malindi is an amazing place among other destinations in East Africa. Taking a stroll in the streets of Malindi Kenya is one of the amazing things one can do. A few glances on the houses built in different parts of town and you can immediately tell of the Swahili influence on the architecture. A few years back, most of the houses were thatched with palm tree leaves, commonly known as makuti. Like other communities, with the change of times, makuti thatching has been replaced with iron sheets. However, there are some parts that still value this kind of culture. Most beach hotels, villas and resorts have this kind of roofing.

The Swahili culture has a big influence on the dressing of the natives. Women wearing buibuis and men putting on kanzu is an indicator of the presence of Islam within the town. Traditionally, women adorn Khangas as wrappers while men made shirts and trousers from them. Leather sandals for both men and women are a norm. They compliment well kanzu, buibui or khanga attires.

Location of Malindi

Malindi is located about 120 kilometres North of Mombasa, about few kilometres south the mouth of River Sabaki also known as River Galana. Watamu and Gede towns are South of Malindi while Mambrui and Gongoni are North of Malindi.

How to get to Malindi

Malindi is 120Km North of Mombasa on Mombasa – Lamu Highway (B8). It is just about 60kms from Kilifi town, Kilifi County headquarter. The most popular form of transport is a matatu when travelling from Mombasa and Kilifi. However, when travelling from Nairobi or Lamu, there are buses that ply that route.

Budget buses have fares ranging from $10 – $15 from Nairobi to Malindi and $8 – $12 from Lamu to Malindi. These take about 10 and 6 hours respectively. For a little more comfort, you will need to part with about $20 for a bus ride from the Capital. Train travel on the Madaraka Express on the Standard gauge Railway(SGR) from the capital, Nairobi ends at Mombasa. Economy prices are at $7 while First class prices are a little over $30.

Malindi town is home to Malindi International Airport (MYD). With daily flights from Nairobi and other major cities and town in the republic, the town is just an hour away.

Tourist Attractions in Malindi

Malindi town is a quite an old town owing much of its current attractions to Portuguese explorers who were travelling around the world to India. The Vasco Da Gama Pillar is one of the most prominent landmarks with Malindi Town.

Not very far from the pillar, there stands an Old Portuguese Chapel that was used the early days’ European explorers. As an effort to conserve National Heritage and Artifacts, The National Museums of Kenya built a museum, also known as the House of Columns just close to the pier.

malindi-pier-buntwani — Malindi Pier | Photo by Peter Mkristo

Not far from the pier, stands the Old District Commissioner office, now turned into a Museum. Outside is the least known landmark of a sail – Prince Henry the Navigator monument, built as a sense of direction by sailors to India.

Much of the buildings around the old District commissioner’s office are very old and are preserved by the The National Museums of Kenya as national heritage.

Just opposite the office is Uhuru gardens (Umoja Taxi), serves as a small picnic garden and also a part of Malindi’s tourist attractions.

History of Malindi

The age of the town of Malindi is still not known. However, by examining traditional oral histories, contemporary written accounts, and archaeological data an estimate can be made for the beginning of settlement in the town.

The use of oral histories in Africa is now very much in vogue among scholars for the purpose of dating migrations and the founding of towns. But with some of the old settlements on the east coast oral histories have tended to be grossly inaccurate.

The earliest historical reference to an East African “Malindi” is found in a Chinese geography called the Yu-yang-tsa-tsu published in 1060 but actually written by the Scholar Tuan Ch’eng-shih who died in AD 863.

The archaeological evidence found in Malindi, although rather incomplete, supports the contention that Malindi as a town was founded in the thirteenth century.

James Kirkman, who spent ten years excavating the Arab town of Gedi, sixteen kilometres south of Malindi, has found in Malindi yellow green-glazed ware called sgraffiato which was made in Persia or Iraq in the thirteen century or possibly at the end of the twelfth century.

This thirteenth -century date corresponds not only with the probable founding of Malindi but also with that of Lamu, Mombasa and Gedi.

Thus according to this historical and the most recent archaeological reports, Malindi was probably founded by Arabs in the early thirteenth century.[/

Complete Malindi Kenya Travel & Information Guide

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