The Bajuni Islands

Strung toward the Kenyan border, the Bajuni islands carry the Swahili world's northern beads: coral islets - Chula, Koyama and their sisters - where the seafaring Bajuni people have harboured dhows, built coral-stone mosques and fished the reef channels for centuries, the culture cousin to Lamu's down the same monsoon coast. Old town traces and pillar tombs mark the deeper history; the water does the present - reef flats in Swahili turquoise, sails on the channels, lobster and reef fish as the day's economy. Access runs on the region's specialist-arranged expedition terms.

History

Somali merchants and fishermen long used the islands for trade, and the Ajuran dynasty held them for centuries. In 1913 the British official C. Wightwick Haywood found only Chovaye and Chula inhabited, growing maize, millet, sweet potatoes and coconuts and using dhows for transport, and saw the ruins of a fair-sized town on Chovaye (Wikipedia, Bajuni Islands).

What you'll find

• The dhow harbours - Bajuni seafaring in living form.
• The coral mosques - Swahili-coast heritage in reef stone.
• The channel turquoise - reef water between the beads.
• The pillar tombs - the coast's old markers among palms.

When to go

December to March, the kaskazi monsoon's calm, in principle. Arrange the trip through specialist local operators.

Good to know

Visits depend wholly on specialist local partnerships. The archipelago's heritage and hospitality wait on the right terms.

Nearby

The southern coast and the monsoon roads of the Swahili world.

Key facts