The two-kilometre seafront promenade from the southern jetty up to the donkey sanctuary is the social spine of Lamu. It runs in front of the old town, lined with low coral-stone buildings, café terraces, and the harbour wall, with dozens of dhows pulled up on the mudflats at low tide.
Walk it at sunset. The light hits the white façades, the call to prayer drifts out from half a dozen mosques, and the dhow captains start firing up their hookah pipes outside their boats. The harbour is the natural place to settle in for an evening tea — try Hapa Hapa or Whispers Coffee Shop.