Travel in Lamu

The Kenya Coast is lined with a beautiful stretch sandy beach, that stretches for kilometers on end. Beautiful coral reefs are not a rare sight here. Coral reefs are formed by tiny animals called coral polyps. It usually takes millions of coral polyps many hundreds of years to produce the coral reefs. Many organisms have made the coral reef their home. These animals include starfish, prawns, crabs and some shells.
Scuba diving is fast becoming popular and several marine parks have been set up at the coast. These marine parks are under the care of the Kenya Wildlife Service which is also in charge of the other wildlife sanctuaries. The edge of the sea sandy beaches, cliffs of old coral, and mangrove forests line the shore. Mangrove trees grow in mud and salty water where land meets sea. Poles from mangroves are strong and resistant to rot, and used to be a traditional export from the coast.
Fishermen use mangrove poles to push their dug-out canoes through shallow water. They lay fish traps made of basketwork, with a funnel-shaped entrance. Fish find it easy to go in but hard to get out, and so they are trapped.
The climate on the coast is hot and humid. Malaria occurs there, as in other lowland, tropical areas. Malaria is a disease that is carried by some mosquitoes. People who get malaria may become very ill and even die, but they are usually cured by medicine. Malaria can be prevented by taking anti-malarial tablets regularly. The sacred groves Once a great forest grew inland from the sea. Its mighty trees were holy groves to the people and sheltered large herds of elephants. Now only patches of the forest remain. Some rare animals and plants, including a kind of African violet, are found only in the coastal forest.
Tourist hotels and plantations of coconut, cashew nut, sisal and sugar cane now line the coast road. The sparkling beaches, cooled by sea breezes, are important tourist attractions. Along the roadside, market places are shaded by large mango trees. The low, square houses are made of white-and-brown coral rock. Their roofs are thatched with coconut fronds. The people who once lived in the coastal forest were hunters and farmers, They built houses of woven poles, covered in grass thatch and protected by strong wooden fences. They prayed in their traditional religion. Celebrations included dances to the sound of drums, flutes, xylophones, rattles and other instruments.
Centuries ago, traders from Arabia came to Kenya in sailing ships called dhows. They anchored in the natural harbors of Lamu, Malindi and Mombasa and set up trading businesses and married people of the coast. They built Arab towns with houses of several stories, narrow streets, and mosques so they would worship in their religion, Islam. People from Britain and northern Europe arrived in Mombasa in the late nineteenth century. At first, the people were mainly Christian missionaries and traders. They built churches for Christian worship and houses in the European style. The British wanted to travel and trade inland. They decided to build a railway line from Mombasa to reach Uganda, near Lake Victoria. People from India to work on the railway line. They too settled in Kenya, taking up jobs as shopkeepers, clerks and skilled work .
Courtesy of Kenya Tourism Board

Travel in Lamu Attractions

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