Lamu Old Town

Lamu Old Town occupies the eastern shore of Lamu Island, a small, dense grid of two- and three-storey coral-stone houses pressed against the seafront. The streets behind are too narrow for any vehicle wider than a donkey, and most of them are too narrow for a donkey with a load — daily life happens at walking pace, on foot, in the shade.

The pleasure of Lamu is doing very little. Spend a morning walking from the southern end of the harbour up past the fort and museum, looking at carved doors, watching kids play around the water taxis, and stopping at one of the cafes for spiced coffee. Come back at sunset when the call to prayer comes from a dozen mosques at once. Two days here will leave you wanting two more.

things to do sight neighbourhood
A story
Lamu Old Town has been continuously inhabited for more than seven hundred years and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The waterfront stone houses, the labyrinth of alleys behind, and the carved Zanzibari doors are the best-surviving example of Swahili coastal architecture anywhere in East Africa.