Slave Caves
Slave Caves
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
26 reviews
Excellent
10
Very good
8
Average
7
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Alex Matimu
Nairobi, Kenya73 contributions
Jan 2020
Place worthy the visit when in Shimoni. Tour takes about 30 minutes.
Historical information about Slave Trade in East Africa. How natives were captured and kept in the caves before boarding ships to be sold as slave. There are evidences of chain links used to tie the slave. The guides are great.
Historical information about Slave Trade in East Africa. How natives were captured and kept in the caves before boarding ships to be sold as slave. There are evidences of chain links used to tie the slave. The guides are great.
Written February 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian C
Mombasa, Kenya100 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
I previously wrote a review of the Shimoni Reef Lodge https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g674639-d1888939-r234285325-Shimoni_Reef_Lodge-Shimoni_Coast_Province.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT
This review relates to the colonial buildings and slave caves at Shimoni, which are historically very interesting well worth visiting on any trip to Shimoni. There is an informative slave museum located in the restored Colonial District Commissioner’s building. The colonial buildings of the Imperial East Africa Company dating from 1885 are some of the oldest European buildings in Kenya.
Slave caves
Starting in the 1750s, Shimoni, along with Malindi, Mombasa and other coastal cities and towns, was a primary, 'slave holding port,' for east Africa's coastal slave trade. These slave holding pens were located in the natural coral cave systems. At Shimoni these coral caves extend for something like 5km, and before silting up gave direct access to the beach where slaves could be directly loaded onto the slave dhows, and taken to the slave markets in Zanzibar before being shipped elsewhere. Captured slaves from as far inland as Lake Victoria and Uganda were first taken to the main slave markets in Mombasa, Bagamoyo, Kilwa, Zanzibar and Pemba, from where they were shipped to places that are now Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, China and Iran.
The slaves were also used as porters to ferry ivory and other goods from the hinterland for shipment. It is said that up to 5 slaves died to carry one tusk of ivory from the interior to the coast.
In 1857, the British parliament enacted an international ban on the slave trade and slavery was officially abolished in Kenya in 1873. The abolition movement in Britain grew out of the Christian churches, and the horrors of the east African slave trade where bought to the attention of the public by the famous explorer and missionary David Livingston.
In the 1870s, the British were successful in convincing the Sultan of Zanzibar to acknowledge the ban. This edict choked the trafficking of slaves to and from Zanzibar, effectively cutting off Shimoni's relevance in the slave trade.
Some vestiges of chains and iron hooks in the cave walls where slaves were chained up still remain. Today the caves are home to a number of different species of bats. Tours of the salve cave are organized by a local community organization.
Proceeds go to funding the local school (teacher‘s salary and scholarships for bright poor students), drugs for the local medical clinic and other local community services.
British colonial buildings
These buildings are well worth visiting, although mostly in ruins, expect the District Commissioner’s building which has been restored and houses (up the steps to the 1st floor) a very informative historical exhibition on the East Africa slave trade.
In the 1880s, British colonialism began in Shimoni with the arrival of the British Imperial East Africa Company's headquarters. According to the somewhat weather beaten information signs these buildings were erected in 1885. A prison (Kenya’s first colonial prison), a District Commissioner’s home and office and other buildings. There is also a graveyard with a clearly marked grave of a British soldier killed in 1893 while fighting the slave traders.
This review relates to the colonial buildings and slave caves at Shimoni, which are historically very interesting well worth visiting on any trip to Shimoni. There is an informative slave museum located in the restored Colonial District Commissioner’s building. The colonial buildings of the Imperial East Africa Company dating from 1885 are some of the oldest European buildings in Kenya.
Slave caves
Starting in the 1750s, Shimoni, along with Malindi, Mombasa and other coastal cities and towns, was a primary, 'slave holding port,' for east Africa's coastal slave trade. These slave holding pens were located in the natural coral cave systems. At Shimoni these coral caves extend for something like 5km, and before silting up gave direct access to the beach where slaves could be directly loaded onto the slave dhows, and taken to the slave markets in Zanzibar before being shipped elsewhere. Captured slaves from as far inland as Lake Victoria and Uganda were first taken to the main slave markets in Mombasa, Bagamoyo, Kilwa, Zanzibar and Pemba, from where they were shipped to places that are now Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, China and Iran.
The slaves were also used as porters to ferry ivory and other goods from the hinterland for shipment. It is said that up to 5 slaves died to carry one tusk of ivory from the interior to the coast.
In 1857, the British parliament enacted an international ban on the slave trade and slavery was officially abolished in Kenya in 1873. The abolition movement in Britain grew out of the Christian churches, and the horrors of the east African slave trade where bought to the attention of the public by the famous explorer and missionary David Livingston.
In the 1870s, the British were successful in convincing the Sultan of Zanzibar to acknowledge the ban. This edict choked the trafficking of slaves to and from Zanzibar, effectively cutting off Shimoni's relevance in the slave trade.
Some vestiges of chains and iron hooks in the cave walls where slaves were chained up still remain. Today the caves are home to a number of different species of bats. Tours of the salve cave are organized by a local community organization.
Proceeds go to funding the local school (teacher‘s salary and scholarships for bright poor students), drugs for the local medical clinic and other local community services.
British colonial buildings
These buildings are well worth visiting, although mostly in ruins, expect the District Commissioner’s building which has been restored and houses (up the steps to the 1st floor) a very informative historical exhibition on the East Africa slave trade.
In the 1880s, British colonialism began in Shimoni with the arrival of the British Imperial East Africa Company's headquarters. According to the somewhat weather beaten information signs these buildings were erected in 1885. A prison (Kenya’s first colonial prison), a District Commissioner’s home and office and other buildings. There is also a graveyard with a clearly marked grave of a British soldier killed in 1893 while fighting the slave traders.
Written March 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
vicriver
vancouver island126 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
It’s not a long or large tour. It’s a community project so the guides are local. You go down the stairs to a fairly large cave lit with light from holes in the roof. There are some rusted eye bolts with rusted chain links. There are just a few short passages as the rest are flooded.
The narrated history is horrific and the ghosts of mans inhumanity to man linger.
The narrated history is horrific and the ghosts of mans inhumanity to man linger.
Written March 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul L
Nijkerk, The Netherlands551 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
The cave where the slaves were held before they were shipped to Zanzibar. our guide showed us around. don't be afraid of the bats, although there a are many. Entree fee is 400 Ksh ( €3,50/$4)
Written October 4, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
threesisterstravel
Houston14 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
While this will not being a smile to your face, it will help you understand history and the life of slaves. The tour was packed with information about slave life, but most importantly it was filled with renewed hope in humankind.
Written July 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeremiah Mutavi Simba
Dubai, United Arab Emirates4 contributions
Nov 2020 • Family
Improve on lighting, publishing written history, good tour guide welcoming receptionist who issues receipt after payment
Written November 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pinneydavid
Nottingham, UK331 contributions
Jan 2020
Our guide was excellent. There are steps to go down but after that the caves have flat floors and are fairly large. It's not expensive. Each month, it is likely that a thousand slaves were collected here then transported to the slave market on Zanzibar.
Written January 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Veronica
Nairobi, Kenya35 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
It was very interesting to hear about the history of the caves. What horrendous conditions the slaves were kept in though! Worth a visit on the way back from snorkelling, it's a short tour so I would plan another activity whilst you're in Shimoni.
Written September 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Givemeaholiday
london262 contributions
Aug 2019
This is literally a 15 minutes visit, but it is well worth a visit to put in perspective how badly treated the natives were in this country and how people were badly abused and upon which a visit to the neighbouring town takes on a very different and eerie perspective.
Due tip the guide, they are paid very little money.
Due tip the guide, they are paid very little money.
Written September 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eddie M
Mombasa, Kenya77 contributions
Jul 2019 • Friends
When you visit this place you get to know the things the slaves used to go through in the former days, it is so heartbreaking, but thanks to God it no longer happens anymore.
Written July 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Has anyone any idea of any tours that leave mombasa to shimoni on a daily basis in August ?
Written May 18, 2019
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