Shimba Hills Viewpoints

Shimba Hills is a range of forested hills rising inland of the south coast, and the point of the drive through it is that you keep arriving at edges. The Kenya Wildlife Service lists panoramic viewpoints among the reserve’s main attractions and names two in its brochure: the Ocean viewpoint, and Pengo, which it gives as the highest point in Shimba Hills. Several more marked stops exist, and knowing which is which is the difference between a good circuit and a random one.

The Viewpoints Worth Driving To

There is no official list, and signage inside the reserve is patchy, so ask at the gate which stops are open and drivable on the day. These are the ones consistently used.

• Pengo Hill. Named by the Kenya Wildlife Service as the highest point in Shimba Hills, and the reserve’s classic sundowner stop, facing west across the hills toward the interior. On an exceptionally clear evening people report seeing as far as the Tsavo plains and Kilimanjaro. Treat that as a bonus rather than a plan, because the coastal haze defeats it far more often than not.
• Giriama Point. The east-facing counterpart, looking down over forest and farmland to the Indian Ocean. It is off the standard half-day loop, which is why most day visitors never reach it, and it is the better of the two for sunrise.
• Elephant Hill, also called the Elephant Lookout. A rise overlooking a valley that elephants use, with the coast visible beyond. The name is a description of what you are looking for rather than a guarantee, but this is the stop where patience is most likely to be rewarded.
• Ocean View. The seaward-facing stop the Kenya Wildlife Service names in its own brochure, with the coastline laid out below. The name is also carried by one of the reserve’s campsites.
• Marere Dam. Not a viewpoint in the panoramic sense, but the reserve’s best water, and so its best birding and the most reliable place to sit and wait.

How to Use Them

The viewpoints are strung around a circuit of murram tracks, so they are done in sequence from a vehicle rather than picked individually. A half day covers the main loop with stops; a full day lets you add Sheldrick Falls, which is the other reason people come.

Short walking trails exist at the Elephant Lookout and at Pengo Hill as well as at the falls. Walking anywhere in this reserve is done with a Kenya Wildlife Service ranger, because Shimba Hills carries a substantial elephant population in thick forest and the sightlines are short.

Haze is the deciding factor and it is worst in the middle of the day. Early morning and the last hour before the gates close are when the distance actually opens up. Gates run from 6am to 6pm, so a genuine sunset from Pengo Hill means either staying inside the reserve overnight or accepting a fast exit.

Getting There

The main gate is past Kwale town, reached from the Likoni to Ukunda road and branching at Kombani junction, roughly 37 kilometres from Mombasa and 31 kilometres from Diani Beach. Reserve entry is payable per person per day and vehicles are charged separately; the current rates and the reserve’s other practicalities are set out on the Sheldrick Falls page and in the Shimba Hills guide.

The tracks are murram and rut badly after rain, so clearance is sensible in the wet season. Most visitors come on an organised day trip from Diani, which settles the question.

Shimba Hills Viewpoint Questions