Diani Beach

Diani Beach is a beach on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Mombasa, in Kwale County.

Diani Beach
Town
Sunrise at Diani Beach
Diani Beach Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 4°19′20″S 39°34′30″E
Country	Kenya
County	Kwale County
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	Diani Beach

Tourism

The beach is about 17 kilometres (11 mi) long, from the Kongo river to the north and Galu beach to the south (the southern point of reference is an old Baobab tree). Diani is one of the most prominent tourism resort areas of Kenya. The indigenous people of the area are the Digo, one of the nine ethnic communities known as the Mijikenda. Today the area includes Kenyans of various ethnicities who have migrated to Diani, drawn by the tourism related economy.^[1] With a population of over 100,000 inhabitants, the Diani/Ukunda urban area is one of the largest at the Kenyan coast and forms part of the larger Mombasa metropolitan region. A small airstrip - Ukunda Airport - is located between the beach area and the Mombasa-Lunga Lunga road. The water remains shallow near shore, with some underwater sandbars near the surface which allow wading with a clear view of the sandy bottom. Inland from the beach, there is extensive vegetation (see photo at right), including numerous palm trees which cover the coastal areas, unlike the dry acacia trees of the mountainous Kenyan Highlands. The Mwachema River flows into the sea at Diani Beach.^[2]

The 16th century Kongo Mosque is located at the Northern tip of Diani Beach, where the Kongo River flows into the ocean separating Diani beach from Tiwi. It is the last remaining ancient Swahili structure in Diani.^[3]

While Diani Beach has been an increasingly popular tourist destination for most of the 21st century,^[4] it has only been accessible by road through Mombasa using the Likoni Ferry.  The completion of the Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway (a.k.a the Mombasa Southern Bypass) is expected to further boost the local tourism sector.^[5]

See also

• Historic Swahili Settlements
• Swahili architecture

References

1. Berman, Nina (January 16, 2017). Germans on the Kenyan Coast: Land, Charity, and Romance. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-25302-430-5.
2. Trillo, Richard (2002). Kenya. Rough Guides. p. 498. ISBN 978-1-85828-859-8.
3. Ham, Anthony (June 2018). Kenya Lonely Planet Guide, 10th edition. Lonely Planet Global Limited. ISBN 978-1-78657-563-0.
4. week, Stay up to date on the editors' picks of the (2020-12-22). "Kwale's Diani beach ranked 7th best in Africa". Business Daily. Retrieved 2024-04-26. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
5. Mwakio, Philip. "Najib Balala: Road projects to boost tourism at Coast". The Standard. Retrieved 2024-04-26.