Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park

Lying just off Kenya’s southern coast near the Tanzanian border, Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park encompasses a chain of low coral islands and surrounding reefs in the Indian Ocean. Regarded as one of the country’s finest marine destinations, it attracts visitors for snorkelling and diving in warm, calm water where tropical fish, turtles and dolphins are frequently seen. Traditional dhows and small motorboats depart from Shimoni, carrying visitors across bright blue channels into the protected waters around Kisite and Mpunguti Islands, where shallow coral gardens reveal parrotfish, angelfish and rays moving through the reef. Dolphins often travel alongside the boats, and on occasion whale sharks pass through deeper waters, while white sand and coral rock edge the islands and seabirds such as terns and herons patrol the shoreline.