Watamu
Kenya
A laid-back coastal town on the Indian Ocean famed for its marine national park, coral gardens, and sea-turtle conservation.
<p>Watamu is a small coastal village on Kenya's North Coast that punches well above its weight as a wildlife and marine destination. Framed by turquoise lagoon waters, ancient baobab trees, and coral rag cliffs draped in bougainvillea, Watamu has maintained a village charm that more commercialised beach destinations have long lost. It sits within the Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve, one of Africa's oldest marine protected areas, whose pristine coral reefs support extraordinary biodiversity.</p>
<p>The marine park's snorkelling and diving reveals gardens of hard and soft coral inhabited by over 500 fish species, sea turtles, octopus, and occasionally dolphins. Watamu is one of Kenya's most important nesting sites for green turtles and hawksbill turtles, with nesting season running from October through March; the local Watamu Turtle Watch project offers guided beach walks to observe nesting females and newly hatched turtles making their way to the sea. From October through February, whale sharks -- the world's largest fish, harmless filter-feeders reaching up to 12 metres -- aggregate off Watamu's coast, and snorkelling or diving with them is a bucket-list experience.</p>
<p>Inland from the beach, Watamu offers rich historical and ecological experiences. The Gede Ruins, a 13th-century Swahili city abandoned mysteriously in the 17th century and now a UNESCO-recognised heritage site, rises hauntingly from the forest just a few kilometres from the coast. The adjacent Arabuko Sokoke Forest -- East Africa's largest intact coastal forest -- shelters rare species found nowhere else on Earth, including Clarke's weaver, the Sokoke scops owl, and the golden-rumped elephant shrew. Watamu's calm, shallow lagoon makes it ideal for families with children.</p>
<p>The marine park's snorkelling and diving reveals gardens of hard and soft coral inhabited by over 500 fish species, sea turtles, octopus, and occasionally dolphins. Watamu is one of Kenya's most important nesting sites for green turtles and hawksbill turtles, with nesting season running from October through March; the local Watamu Turtle Watch project offers guided beach walks to observe nesting females and newly hatched turtles making their way to the sea. From October through February, whale sharks -- the world's largest fish, harmless filter-feeders reaching up to 12 metres -- aggregate off Watamu's coast, and snorkelling or diving with them is a bucket-list experience.</p>
<p>Inland from the beach, Watamu offers rich historical and ecological experiences. The Gede Ruins, a 13th-century Swahili city abandoned mysteriously in the 17th century and now a UNESCO-recognised heritage site, rises hauntingly from the forest just a few kilometres from the coast. The adjacent Arabuko Sokoke Forest -- East Africa's largest intact coastal forest -- shelters rare species found nowhere else on Earth, including Clarke's weaver, the Sokoke scops owl, and the golden-rumped elephant shrew. Watamu's calm, shallow lagoon makes it ideal for families with children.</p>
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