Pate Island 1 Day Trip Lamu Island Excursions

Pate Island 1-Day Trip Lamu Island excursions: This is a sailing day trip with a wooden dhow to Pate Island to explore Faza Town, Pate Town, Siyu Fort, and the archeological site of Shanga. Pate Island 1 day tour can begin and end from Lamu Island, Manda Island, or Kiwayu Island. Pate Island is in the Lamu Archipelago and is situated off the Kenyan Coast, around 20 km to the northeast of Lamu Island, and is about 3 times the size of Lamu. The tour begins with a 45-minute speed boat ride from Lamu jetty through the Mkanda (channel of the Indian Ocean) to Mtangawanda jetty on Pate Island.

A private vehicle will be used from Mtangawanda jetty to Siyu, a historical 13th-century village, where travelers will visit the Siyu fort. From Siyu village we head to a 7th-century old village of Shanga. Shanga ruins, tombs and foundation houses will be magnificent for travelers.  We will go to Pate, a 13th-century old village, to see the Nabahani ruins, Pate town’s ancient tombs, old Mosques, and the remains of Portuguese houses.   Necessary breaks will be made for Swahili snacks, lunch, and visiting the artisan shops. The return journey to Lamu Island will begin shortly after the tour of Pate’s old town.

Pate Island 1-Day Trip Lamu Island excursions: This is a sailing day trip with a wooden dhow to Pate Island to explore Faza Town, Pate Town, Siyu Fort, and the archeological site of Shanga. Pate Island 1 day tour can begin and end from Lamu Island, Manda Island, or Kiwayu Island.

Pate Island is in the Lamu Archipelago and is situated off the Kenyan Coast, around 20 km to the northeast of Lamu Island, and is about 3 times the size of Lamu. The tour begins with a 45 minutes speed boat ride from Lamu jetty through the Mkanda (channel of the Indian ocean) to Mtangawanda jetty on Pate island.

A private vehicle will be used from Mtangawanda jetty to Siyu, a historical 13th-century village, where travelers will visit the Siyu fort. From Siyu village we head to a 7th-century old village of Shanga. Shanga ruins, tombs, and foundation houses will be magnificent for travelers.

We will go to Pate, a 13th-century old village, to see the Nabahani ruins, Pate town’s ancient tombs, old Mosques, and the remains of Portuguese houses.   Necessary breaks will be made for Swahili snacks, lunch, and visiting the artisan shops. The return journey to Lamu island will begin shortly after the tour of Pate’s old town.

Lamu Island

The Lamu Archipelago is the islands that lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga, near the Coast Province. It is a part of the Lamu District. The largest of the islands is Pate Island, Manda Island, and Lamu Island. Smaller islands include Kiwayu, which lies in the Kiunga Marine National Reserve, and Manda Toto.

Today the largest town in the archipelago is Lamu Town, on Lamu Island. The city is on the World Heritage List. The archipelago contains several archaeological/ historical sites of great significance, such as Takwa and Manda Town (both on Manda Island) and Shanga (on Pate Island).

Some have been partially excavated later, shedding important new light on Swahili history and culture. Our tour visits Pate Island to see the ruins of the old town and see women making the traditional Makuti for their beautiful thatched roofs and Kofias for the Muslim men.

We also venture further to villages and towns such as Siyu with its incredible fort – more than a match for the one found in Lamu.

FazaTown, on the North coast, dates back to the 13th C, when it was almost destroyed by the Pate army. It was resettled and then dealt the same blow in 1587 by the Portuguese. Faza is now a modern town and the central administrative center for Pate Island.

Pate Town is situated on the South-West coast of the island. The Town of Pate was founded by refugees from Oman in the 8th century and re-founded by members of the Nabahani family, also from Oman, in 1204. The 18th century was known as the “Golden Age of Pate” when the Town was at its height of power and also prospered in fine arts.

Builders constructed some of the finest houses on the East African coast, with extensive elaborate plaster works. The downfall of Pate Town came as a consequence of continuous quarreling/warring with its neighbors from the end of the 18th century. In 1813 the famous “Battle of Shela” took place at Shela.

This was an attempt by Pate, allied with the Mazrui clan from Mombasa/Oman, to subject Lamu. The attempt completely failed and many were killed. Only a handful of people managed to return to Pate, and their losses were felt for years. By 1892 the number of inhabitants had fallen to only 300, down from 7000.

Agriculture and fishing are the main economic activities of the day.

Siyu Fort is located on Pate Island, at a point opposite Siyu Town across the tidal channel, which bisects the island at high water. It lies some 25 km to the northeast of Lamu Town and can be reached by boat from Lamu, up a long mangrove-lined creek that is only navigable at high tide.

Siyu is the only Town that built a fort of its own, unlike Mombasa and Lamu where the forts were erected by foreigners.

Shanga is an important archaeological site, situated on the South-East coast of the island. It was excavated for eight years, starting in 1980.

The earliest settlement was dated to the eighth century, and the conclusion drawn from archeological evidence (locally minted coins, burials) indicates that a small number of local inhabitants were Muslim, probably from the late eighth century onwards, and at least from the early ninth.

Shanga was abandoned between 1400-1425.

Pate Island 1 Day Trip Lamu Island Excursions Rates Includes:

Lunch + soft drinks and bottled water + Return dhow transfers from Lamu Island, Manda Island, or Kiwayu Island and inclusive of taxes & Dhow trip to Pate Island and a visit to Faza Town, Pate Town, Siyu Fort, and the archeological site of Shanga

Notes:

* This is a full-day trip and must be planned at high tide. A cooler box with drinks and lunch will be organized

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