Mombasa’s dilapidated ‘covered’ market is packed with stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables. Roaming produce carts also congregate in the surrounding streets, and dozens of miraa (twigs and shoots that are chewed as a stimulant) sellers join the fray when the regular deliveries come in. Remember, if you’re chewing, here (unlike Ethiopia and Yemen) you chew the peeled stalks and not the leaves.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.55 MILES
This 16th-century fort and Unesco World Heritage treasure is Mombasa’s most visited site. The metre-thick walls, frescoed interiors, traces of European…
21.72 MILES
This park is among the easiest to visit in Kenya, within spitting distance of Diani Beach, with numerous driving routes and a couple of hiking trails. Its…
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17.41 MILES
This sanctuary is a good example of community-based conservation, with local people acting as stakeholders in the project. It was opened in October 1995…
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24.48 MILES
This forest, sacred to the Digo people, is the only one of the area's sacred forests that's open to visitors. Visiting this small grove is a nature walk,…
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9.89 MILES
These Swahili ruins, just north of Mtwapa Creek, have as much archaeological grandeur as the more famous Gede ruins. Jumba la Mtwana means ‘Big House of…
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4.56 MILES
This lovely wildlife sanctuary, part of the Baobab Adventure complex, includes a fish farm and reptile park. Guided walks around the park last about 1½…
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28.9 MILES
Just outside the village of Takaungu, you fly on the back of a motorbike down dirt roads, past spiky fields of sisal and giant baobabs towering above…
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21.02 MILES
Notice the monkeys clambering on rope ladders over the road? The 'colobridges' are the work of the Colobus Conservation Centre, which aims to protect the…
Nearby Mombasa attractions
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This market, which stretches along Nehru and Langoni Rds west of the Old Town, is an evocative, sensory overload – expect lots of jostling, yelling,…
0.05 MILES
This Jain temple caters to believers of Gujarati origin, and the ornamental interior, with niches filled with brightly painted figurines of deities, is…
0.35 MILES
Mombasa’s large Hindu population doesn’t lack for places of worship. The enormous Lord Shiva Temple is airy, open and set off by an interesting sculpture…
0.39 MILES
The Christian Holy Ghost Cathedral is a very European hunk of neo-Gothic buttressed architecture, with massive fans in the walls to cool its former…
0.47 MILES
Founded in 1570, Mandhry Mosque in the Old Town is the city's oldest, and an excellent example of Swahili architecture, which combines the elegant…
0.49 MILES
Dating from 1902, the old law courts on Nkrumah Rd have been converted into an informal gallery, with regularly changing displays of local art, Kenyan…
0.53 MILES
The Swaminarayan Temple is stuffed with highlighter-bright murals that’ll make you feel as if you’ve been transported to Mumbai.
0.54 MILES
Giant replicas of elephant tusks form two arches above Moi Ave, welcoming visitors to the city. Next to them are Uhuru Gardens, a tranquil, green space of…