Gedi Ruins Entrance Fees

This post focuses on Gedi Ruins National Monument & Museum Entrance Fees. Gedi is located in Kilifi County. It lies 16 km south of Malindi town and approximately 90 km northeast of Mombasa. Gedi ruins are the remains of a Swahili town, typical of most towns along the East African Coast. It traces its origins in the twelfth century but was rebuilt with new town walls in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Gedi Ruins is now a National Museum, and the ruins are densely forested with beautiful indigenous forest trees such as baobabs and tamarind. A walk and a visit are both highly recommended. Look out for Syke’s Monkeys, as well as the Golden Rumped Elephant Shrew. A quiet, careful look in some of the old wells may also reveal an owl. Gedi’s ruins are the remains of an Arab-African settlement found along the East African coast. The Swahili people built these towns in the 15th and 16th centuries.

By that time, Swahili had established trade relations with countries in the Middle East and India. Gedi had a population of around 2,500 people at its peak of prosperity, according to experts. There are several theories as to why the town was abandoned in the 16th or 17th centuries. However, after Gedi was abandoned, it remained undisturbed, giving nature time to reclaim the area. Gedi’s ruins were rediscovered in the 1920s and designated as a historical monument in 1927. Since then, about 18 hectares of the site have been excavated, revealing the remains of several mosques, a palace, residential houses, and elaborate pillar tombs. Because it is hidden in the deep forest, the location is very atmospheric and mysterious.

Taking a guided tour of the ruins and museum will teach you a lot about the fascinating culture of the Swahili people and the ancient town they built. You can also walk along the nature trail network, which includes 40 different plant species and leads to smaller ruins scattered throughout the forest. Gedi Ruins is also a great place to see wildlife. Forest birds such as Turacos, Malachite Kingfishers, Paradise Flycatchers, and African Harrier Hawks can be seen from the A Rocha’s Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme (ASSETS) tree platform.