The Gede Ruins

Gede was a prosperous Swahili town from around the thirteenth century, built of coral rag and lime in the style of the whole East African coast, with a great mosque, a palace, pillar tombs and streets of courtyard houses, trading in beads, porcelain and glass that came from as far as China and Persia, fragments of which have been dug up here. Then, some time in the seventeenth century, it was abandoned, and no one is certain why, with theories ranging from a falling water table to raids from neighbours. The forest closed over it, and what you walk through now is a ruin held in the roots of enormous baobabs and fig trees, with troops of golden-rumped elephant shrews rustling in the leaf litter and monkeys overhead. It is atmospheric in a way that a cleared site would not be, and a guide brings the town's layout and trade to life.

What you actually see

• The Great Mosque - the town's main mosque, its mihrab and columns still standing.
• The palace - the courtyards, audience hall and store rooms of the ruler's compound.
• The pillar tombs - the distinctive Swahili tomb form found along this coast.
• The forest - baobabs and figs growing through the walls, with elephant shrews below.

When to go

October to March is drier and more comfortable; the forest keeps the site shaded and cooler than the open coast at any time. Mornings are best for wildlife in the trees and for the light through the canopy. Guides wait at the entrance and are worth taking.

Honest expectations

Without a guide the ruins read as low coral walls in the trees and the story is easy to miss, so take one. Paths are uneven and can be muddy after rain, and mosquitoes are present in the shade. The small site museum is modest. It is a half-day at most, and works best combined with the Watamu coast or the Arabuko-Sokoke forest next door.

Nearby

Watamu's beaches and Mida Creek are minutes away; Arabuko-Sokoke forest adjoins the site.