Lamu rides on Swahili culture’s magic to attract visitors

What strikes every visitor to Lamu is the rich Swahili architecture and a bristling culture to boot.

The town has some of the most exclusive real estate gems, tucked on the lips of Kenya’s pristine beaches – making it a fertile playing ground for the rich and famous.

The Princess of Monaco, for instance, has a regal house at the shores of Manda Beach, and once in a while, a chopper will drop guests at one of the exclusive lodges to the north of the Island to play water sports.

Every November, thousands of tourists flock to Lamu for the annual Cultural Festival that celebrates the island’s unique cultural heritage.

During that month, Lamu truly comes alive but this has been dampened by acts of terrorism and kidnapping that hit the island last year.

In Lamu, the attacks are like a curse that nobody wants to confront. Everyone wants to forget these incidents and so they are never mentioned by name.

Instead, they raise their fingers and tuck it in quotation marks, perhaps because Lamu has had a real knock on tourism – the mainstay of its economy.

Evidence of the knock can be seen in the drop in hotel bookings and in the questioning eyes of the locals who depend on the visitors.

Even though hotels have had to lay off workers to stay afloat, and businesses hang on shoestring budgets, hope somehow continues to find home in Lamu. Besides, the players are doing something more. They are getting together to get Lamu back on its feet.

And like the mythical fire bird phoenix, Lamu is rebuilding itself.

The island is going all out to sell its unique architecture and rich Swahili culture to both domestic and international tourists. Property owners, tour companies and airlines have come together to help bring back to its glory.

At Lamu House, one of the more popular accommodation facilities in the town that is ran by Frank and Marianne Feremans a special menu of culture is served.

To attract visitors to his property Frank organises lunch every Sunday at the House’s Beach Club in Monda Bay a white beached and palm tree-lined cove 10 minutes away by speedboat.

This single event has become popular in Lamu and its environs, attracting guests and other hoteliers from as far as Shela, Lamu and Kipungani area.

Guests frolic in the sea, or lie on their pagodas, sipping wine before digging into the sumptuous cuisine that consist of anything from Tortellini in pesto or white sauce, grilled black prawns, to grilled calamari and prawns tikka masala.

This event has grown to the extent that not less than 40 people gather at the beach to mingle and have a good meal before jumping back into their dhows or speedboats just as the sun prepares to set.

But there are travellers who would rather enjoy the beach than stay in town.

One of the popular beach properties is Peponi Hotel, Shela’s largest beachfront hotel, and a more exclusive residence run by the Korschen family, since 1967.

Peponi is synonymous with Shela and offers a slightly highbrow accommodation with a standard double room going for about Sh22,000, for bed and breakfast.

Away from the beach, through the narrow labyrinth of corridors, is Banana House, a 16-roomed mid-range boutique hotel that attracts high-end of market customers.

“At Banana House, the temperature drops,” Monika Fauth, the owner says, and indeed it’s cooler in there.

This is because Banana House is a private zone that has a rich green garden, a swimming pool, hammock and day beds.

What’s unique about it is the fact that Monika, a former fashion buyer in Europe, offers yoga lessons for guests.

“You have to learn how to breath, you think you know how to, but you don’t,” Monika tells me.

For Sh11,500 per night, a double, this is a small sacrifice to be next to the beach. If only to learn how to breath.

It is small unique hotels like this that makes Lamu a versatile magnet for travellers.

“Lamu is not a luxurious destination,” Maggie Mugambi of Lamu Homes and Safaris Limited, a travel agency that sells Lamu exclusively says.
“We sell more than just the properties to our clients, we sell the unique architecture and culture.”

But for a destination that isn’t luxurious, Lamu has been criticised for being too expensive, especially because of accessibility challenges with flights retailing at an average of Sh25,000 for a return ticket from Nairobi. This is almost double the price of a flight to Diani.

Operators know this and as part of the effort to rebuild Lamu they are partnering to offer affordable packages, especially to the domestic visitors.

For instance, for Sh44,500 a couple sharing can get a return ticket and two nights at Peponi Hotel including boat transfers – saving close to Sh30,000.

“The logistics of running flights to Lamu is not as simple as other destinations. But it’s an important route for us, one that we need to sustain commercially, even in light of the latest happenings,” says Sheryl D’Souza, Air Kenya’s marketing manager.

Even though getting to Lamu can be a tad pricey, if flying and a logistical hustle if travelling by road, it is worth the visit.

There are tons of things one can enjoy and do there. One can hire a dhow and spend the day fishing at the various lagoons off the island. One could also snorkel or take a stab at wind surfing, which most hotels offer.

But if water isn’t exactly your thing, please nip into the museum and learn about the culture, or just have a beer at the terrace of Lamu’s main bar, Petleys Bar.

Not to be missed is the annual Lamu Cultural festival in November. The three day festival is a showcase of traditional dances, display of handicraft, water sports including dhow races and a showcase of the Swahili bridal ceremony and musical performances.

Even though Lamu isn’t sold as a luxury destination, half hour from the town, in one of the world’s most private beaches, backed by dunes and palm trees is Kizingoni Beach. Accommodation consists of eight private houses, each serviced by seven members of staff that cook, clean and attend to all your needs.

The houses are furnished in colonial Arab Swahili style and have numerous shady verandas and terraces, welcoming daybeds, swinging beds and lounge areas.

There, guests are all alone to frolic in the deserted beaches, kite surf, sail, explore Lake Kenyatta inside the mangroves or take an excursion in Kipungani Village, some two kilometres away and experience the untouched Swahili culture. And if you hear any more legends, especially about the Chinese, please share it because those tales add to the grandeur of Lamu.