The Gede Ruins

How long

Half day

Starting from

Collected from your resort

The Gede Ruins, a few kilometres from Watamu, are one of the most important and fascinating archaeological sites on the Kenyan coast.

The ancient town of Gedi was an important trading centre between the 13th and 17th centuries, visited by merchants from across the Indian Ocean. Today its ruins stand in lush tropical forest, among great baobabs.

On the visit you explore what remains of the town and its main buildings — the mosques, the houses, the sultan’s palace and other historic structures. The objects and finds recovered during the excavations are kept in the site museum, which you can visit at the end of the tour.

The forest around it, and the many small monkeys long used to visitors, make it an atmospheric place — and an enjoyable one, especially for children.

A visit to Gede is a way into the history and culture of the Swahili coast, and the remains of a civilisation that traded with the Indian Ocean world for centuries.