Malindi nestles on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. You get there by driving on the Mombasa-Malindi road. The town's history dates way back to thousand years ago. It can be reliably traced to the 13th century through Arabic records and dated pottery remnants. The town is served by many hotels and the main beach spans to about 7 km around Malindi Bay. The glittering white sandy beach to the south of Malindi town is called Silversands host a panorama of petit hotels .A attractive ancient mosques, a bustling market, a nine hole golf course and, and the renowned Malindi Marine National Park all add to the destinations attraction. Malindi’s fish market and the fishing club from which stalwarts come from all over the world in search of sea giants. Kenya holds several world records for big game fish; Hemingway lingered in the 30's to take pleasure in his favorite sport.
Malindi historically dates back to the 9th Century, with Arab occupation from the 13th Century onwards. It has been a rich trade center with the near East and this influence can be seen characterized in its Arabic architecture. In 1414, the town was visited by the fleet of the Chinese explorer Zheng He. Malindi's ruler sent a personal envoy together with a giraffe as a present to China on that fleet.
A Portuguese explorer by the name of Vasco da Gama met came to Malindi in 1498, signed a trade agreement and hired a guide for the voyage to India, when he erected a coral pillar that still exists today. In 1499 the Portuguese established a trading post in Malindi which served as a resting stop on the way to and from India
Fishing, extraction of shells, starfish and coral within the Malindi Marine National Park is illegal. The coral gardens in the situated in the middle of the park are a fascination, these are seen by diving, snorkeling or peering through the hull of a glass-bottomed boat.. Multicolor fish of diverse sizes and unimaginable shapes swim in a stunning parade. Flutemouths, thornheads, halfbeaks, zebra and parrotfish, hawkfishes, lizard fishes, trigger fishes, porcupine fish, puffers and hundreds of others decorate the reef. Octopus pulse away in fear, rays move about to conceal themselves under a coat of sand, these and many more wonders live in peacefully without want within the protected areas. North of Malindi is an extensive salt pan system for evaporating sea water for common salt used in the kitchen. An eroded wasteland of sandstone cliffs and precipices, near Marafa, popularly known as Hell's Kitchen and a small Arabian Night's town called Mambrui adorned with Islamic and Chinese relics, further beyond is Ngomeni, a small village and harbor the entry port of the Formosa Bay. This endless bay sweeps in an extensive arc encompassing the wide delta of Kenya's chief river, the Tana.At Ngomeni, set on piles in the shallow waters of the Bay is a rocket-launching site where weather satellites are launched from time to time. The entire coastline from Mambrui to Lamu Island is wonderful beaches.
- Malindi Hotels
- Malindi & Mombasa Tours
