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Santo Antonio De Tanna

Unusual Attractions in Mombasa

Santo Antonio De Tanna: Portuguese Shipwreck

Santo Antonio de Tanna was a mega Portuguese India fleet’s frigate destroyed on October 20th, 1697, and sunk in front of Fort Jesus after it came under unshakable attacks from the Omanis occupying it at the time. It was discovered in late 1960s and subsequent excavation was carried out from 1976 to 1980 by a team of local divers and the Nautical Archaeology Society. More than 15,000 artefacts were recovered from the trenches, indexed and are displayed at Fort Jesus. It was one of the early maritime excavations done in Kenya and amongst the few successful nautical excavations in Africa. Gazetted in 1977 as a National Monument, with a deeply integrated history, this ship, Kenya’s premier wreck diving site, offers a glimpse of the far-removed battles that dominated Mombasa in the 17th century.

Since the 1970s work faded on discovering shipwrecks along the Kenyan coast, but with the start of underwater archaeology in the 2010s there is every possibility to uncover more wrecks, which include: El Rei (lost on a sandbar off Mombasa in 1500), Nossa Senhora da Graca (wrecked near Malindi), Flamenga (that struck a reef and sunk in the shallow waters off Mombasa), Aguia (wrecked off Mombasa in 1559 with the loss of over 1,100 lives), the Almado Salvacao (wrecked entering Mombasa Harbour in 1608 by the Dutch), San Filipe (sank in 1610 near Mombasa), Nossa Senhora do Guadalupe (wrecked near Malindi in 1614), Santo Amaro and Nossa Senhora dos Remedios (wrecked off Mombasa in 1670) – All Portuguese.


Around Kenya are a selection of natural landmarks, cultural shrines, architectural oddities, and technological installations that offer incredible, almost surreal experiences that can make you feel as if you’ve stepped into another world. Hauntingly beautiful to some, eerie sights for others, and still, for others, down right strange, these site provide unique experiences for adventurous travelers.

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Mombasa County is generally warm and humid. A tropical wet and dry climate influenced by warm sea breezes year-round. May is generally the wettest month, then April and June. March is the hottest, peaking at 33oC, with average temperatures across the year rarely falling below 24oC; July and August.