Lamu Island

 

If it’s your first time traveling to Africa, do the obvious: Go on a safari. And if, after you’ve seen the lions, rhinos, and elephants, the special history and culture of the continent gets under your skin, consider a different, nonzoological type of African destination the next time around. For many, mostly European habitués, that destination is the island of Lamu. Just 2 degrees south of the Equator, off the east coast of Kenya, Lamu is a place that seems stuck in time. For centuries, it was a bustling Indian Ocean port of call and an important link in the spice trade, and that atmosphere is totally palpable here today. Lamu is like an exotic stage set that also happens to have amazing beaches.

The streets of Lamu are quiet, cool, and car-free, lined with thick-walled white stone buildings, their arches and decorative cutouts evoking the centuries of Muslim influence here: Lamu was founded by Arab traders in the 1400s. Virtually every house has a roofed veranda on the top floor. The entire island has one proper town—the busy Lamu Town, which, as the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Monuments here include the turreted Lamu Fort and Riyadha Mosque (both from the 19th c.), but the most interesting sights are the much more ancient, nameless traditional houses, some of which date back to Lamu Town’s 14th-century foundations. Elsewhere on the island, there are a handful of lesser villages; one of the most well known for visitors is Shela. Here, guesthouses line gorgeous golden sandy beaches where traditional dhows and brightly colored fishing boats with names like Beyonce loll in the surf. Dolphins swim in the waters offshore, and you’ll probably meet a few when you’re out for a dip. There isn’t a single automobile on the island; instead, you’re shuttled around by boat, donkey, or scooter when you aren’t using your own two feet.

 

There may be donkey droppings in the streets and Swahili spoken in the markets, but Lamu tourism is an exclusive affair. Some of the most famous families in the world have holiday property here, and for all the island’s African authenticity, the cuisine on Lamu is surprisingly inflected by haute-European culinary trends. With its beautiful, simple architecture (most is Swahili, from the 19th c.), gorgeous people (a mix of African and Arab ethnicities), and rich heritage, relaxing Lamu is a magnet for well-heeled travelers looking for something with more cultural cache than the been-there, done-that south of France.
What makes Lamu so attractive—that it’s completely exotic and romantic, without the blight of extreme poverty that plagues so much of Africa—is also what makes vacationing here a surreal and perhaps even guilt-ridden experience. Going for drinks at the friendly and fabulous colonial-style Peponi Hotel (where everybody meets at some point while on Lamu), you might well rub elbows with princes (or Prince himself), and revel in the absurdity of finding such glamour here, a place whose economy hinged for centuries on the slave trade, while just across the water is an entire continent struggling to meet basic human needs.
Getting to Lamu involves flying first to Nairobi, and from Nairobi, catching a small plane to Manda Island. (For a lot more money, you can also fly to Lamu itself, where there’s an airstrip served by small charter planes from Nairobi.) Because Lamu isn’t easy to reach, and because its rhythms take some time to get to know, it’s the kind of place you should plan to visit for at least a week.