Diani Beach is a major

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

coast of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

(in eastern Africa). It is located south of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, in

Kwale County Kwale County is a county in the former Coast Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kwale, although Ukunda is the largest town. Kwale county has an estimated population of 649,931. Kwale is mainly an inland county, but it has coastline south of Mo ...

. It has been voted Africa's leading beach destination for the fifth time running since 2015.

Tourism

The beach is about 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. With a population of over 100,000 inhabitants, the Diani/

Ukunda Ukunda is a coastal town in the southern part of Mombasa. It paves way into Diani Beach, a major tourist attraction. Location It is located in Kwale County, Coast Province, adjacent and to the immediate west of Diani Beach, along the Indian Oc ...

urban area is one of the largest at the Kenyan coast and forms part of the larger Mombasa

metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. A small airstrip -

Ukunda Airport Ukunda Airport is a small airfield near Diani Beach in Kwale County, Kenya. The airport serves the local areas of Diani, Tiwi and Msambweni. Services The airport started operating Air Kenya services to and from Nairobi's Wilson airport as o ...

- is located between the beach area and the Mombasa-Lunga Lunga road. The water remains shallow near shore, with some underwater

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

s 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. The general area is known for its

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and for the closely located

Shimba Hills National Reserve The Shimba Hills National Reserve is a small National Reserve in the former Coast Province of Kenya, 33 km from Mombasa and 15 km from the coast. The reserve is an area of coastal rainforest, woodland and grassland. It is an important a ...

, a

wildlife reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

which looks out over the Indian Ocean. Diani Beach has restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and several shopping centres. Diani Beach is also a popular

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

jet skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

, and

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

location. 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 fro
Tiwi
It is the last remaining ancient Swahili structure in Diani.

References

Swahili people Swahili city-states Swahili culture Populated places in Kwale County Beaches of Kenya Mombasa {{Kenya-geo-stub

Tourism

See also

References