Shimba Hills rises directly behind Diani Beach and holds one of the last significant blocks of coastal rainforest in East Africa, a different habitat from the dry savanna most Kenya safaris cover. It is Kenya’s only home to the sable antelope, alongside elephant, giraffe and a genuinely different range of forest birdlife.
A short walk from the main track leads to Sheldrick Falls, a waterfall dropping into a pool that is usually safe to swim in – a rare thing on a Kenyan game reserve. Being so close to Mombasa and the south coast resorts, it is the most accessible forest-and-wildlife day trip on that stretch of coast.