Mama Ngina is a 26-acre waterfront park originally known as “Mama Ngina Drive Park” that has just undergone an overhaul into a modern public recreation space with a lot of added amenities. It turned into the country’s first beachside with a garden.
Mama Ngina Drive Park was rebuilt and reopened to the public in October 2019 after the government of Mombasa County’s plans to work with the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism to give the iconic facility a new facelift were successfully implemented. The area used to be a bay for observing that rose from a little cliff overlooking the Likoni channel and was used as a place for unwinding, resting, running, cycling, and strolling. There is no entrance cost, a mosque is within, there are many of places to get snacks, and there are numerous activities like camel and horseback rides and little automobiles for youngsters. The Likoni channel, which is where ships enter and exit Kilindini Harbour, is nearby, so you may see large ships up close.
If you’re near Mombasa Island and the shore, Mama Ngina Waterfront Park is the ideal place to go. Because the Sh460 million renovated Park was designed with the general public in mind, no special planning or arrangements are necessary. In contrast to Nairobi, Mombasa is becoming a fantastic metropolis where everything operates in accordance with set parameters. The way PSVs, taxis and private transportation are scheduled to pick up passengers at the SGR Mombasa station demonstrates a systematic procedure. Along with the renovated ones, new parks and recreational spaces have flourished, offering significant tourist destinations for both domestic and foreign visitors. Mama Ngina Waterfront is without a doubt the best of them all. If you’re driving, there is a sizable parking area outside. Visitor vehicles are not allowed inside the park.
The Likoni channel crossing, where a jetty designed specifically for the water taxis and a live boat museum are located, is close to the park’s entrance. Most of the structures are constructed of coral stone, Swahili-style lime plaster, precast concrete screens and frames, hardwood siding, and timber with Mangalore roofing tiles. Park regeneration has changed the once-sleeping Mama Ngina large park and assisted in preserving Swahili coastal culture and heritage.
The waterfront park is now home to a cultural complex, a completely built natural amphitheatre, a sun-drenched 2.1km-long promenade, and a space for food vendors in addition to its original design of a watching bay cut out of a small rising cliff facing the Likoni channel.
To separate and create a protective safety buffer from the cliff face, guardrails are thoughtfully positioned along the shoreline, a few metres above the roaring waves. The guardrails provide a safe vantage point. A few tourists disregard the warning signs and put their lives in danger by going past or sitting on the rails. It’s a breath taking experience that occasionally causes you to gasp for air to walk down the well-paved, palm-lined pedestrian lanes, which offer the perfect environment for exercise.
With friends, family, or by yourself, this place is ideal for leisurely strolls, runs, and adventures. There are so many amazing components here that I am at a loss for words. Some of them are mounted and placed in strategic areas to illustrate important historical occurrences of this more than 400-year Swahili centre.
The National Museums of Kenya, the protectors of the historical and archaeological sites, gazetted the Mama Ngina Waterfront Park in 2005 with the intention of conserving it. Coastal leaders petitioned with the previous President Uhuru Kenyatta to rehabilitate the park after it eventually lost its lushness.
The 26-acre park is currently renowned for having a distinctive setting where guests may unwind and see the top ships sailing past as they enter and exit the Mombasa port. The oldest golf course in Kenya is the Mombasa Golf Club, which is situated in the park and opened in 1911. It faces the Likoni crossing canal. The fifteenth-century Mama Ngina Waterfront Park contains a wealth of information about Mombasa town’s illustrious past.
While many visitors think of the park as a place to relax and enjoy a picnic, other visitors go there to do study and interact with the past. Archaeologists think the ancient relics they have discovered beneath the park can reveal a lot about the history of Mombasa, a port city.
The basis of Mombasa’s city was Mama Ngina Park, as shown by the archaeological findings. The furthest point of the Park’s boundaries, behind the Coast Police Headquarters, is where historians believe Mombasa Island’s unexplored history is located. It tells the story of the ruins of St. John’s ACK, which the Portuguese are believed to have built as their first church in Mombasa.
The building is still standing unmodified on a rock at the Mama Ngina Waterfront. It has survived despite being battered by weather for four centuries. The ruins of the ACK church are next to the St. Joseph fortress and another ancient building that hasn’t been named. There are also caverns and tunnels that were used by Arabs to transport slaves in the past.
The slaves were kept in the caves prior to being sold abroad. Following their conquest, the Portuguese exploited the tunnels and caverns as underground bases from which to attack the Arabs and native populations. These locations are now used as shrines and occasionally as hiding places by criminal elements.
Things to do at Mama Ngina Waterfront Picnic areas
In the park, there are designated picnic areas where you may relax and enjoy a meal with friends and family. Either bring your own refreshments or purchase them from nearby food vendors are options. The Mama Ngina Waterfront, where year-round small-scale local sellers sell seafood, has long been a favourite destination for family trips. It is well-known for its freshly fried cassava crisps, called Kachiri in the local dialect, a variety of fried potatoes, pastries, sweet and savoury treats, chicken and fish snacks, and the renowned Mkate wa mayai (a pan-fried snack with a thin dough crust filled with minced meat, onion rings, and eggs).
A never-ending selection of food is offered, and madafu fresh coconut water made from young coconuts rather than juice is constantly on hand to help you drink it all down. There is no need to be concerned because these treats are available all year.
Leisure walks
The park is the ideal place to relax and simply rest because it is in the cool sea breeze and away from Mombasa Island’s heat. Visitors can watch ships coming into and going out of Mombasa Port and stopping at Kilindini Harbour from the park’s expansive vista of the Indian Ocean. It is also feasible to descend the bluff and explore the water during low tide. Visitors can also see indigenous plants and animals in the park, including the rare and endangered grey heron bird and the 400-year-old baobab tree.
Visit Kilindini Cultural Centre
Kilindini Cultural Centre is an essential tool for recounting the history of Swahili culture. Through its exhibition galleries and screening rooms, visitors can see videos and listen to audio to discover more about the history of Mombasa. The centre maintains Swahili design and architecture while incorporating contemporary elements. The intricate white plaster finishing, Swahili-carved wooden doors, and window shutters, among other complicated and lovely carving elements, are captured and kept in that area.
Pigeon towers
The cultural centre and Mombasa Golf Club are close by, while the pigeon towers are located in Mama Ngina Waterfront Park’s most northern section. These pigeon towers are an important part of Mombasa’s history and culture since they are examples of traditional Swahili architecture and the work of the city’s original settlers. The towers gave the locals a way to collect pigeon droppings, which were utilised as a free natural fertiliser for crops. Visitors to the Kilindini Waterfront now frequently go to the pigeon towers. Visitors can learn about the towers’ cultural and historical significance while appreciating its distinctive architecture from local tour guides. The towers also form a stunning backdrop for pictures, especially at dusk
