The Vasco da Gama Pillar was erected by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. It was built during his pioneering sea voyage from Lisbon to India via the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 or 1499 (1497–99).

Vasco da Gama first visited Malindi between April 15 and 24, 1498. He was warmly received by the Sultan of Malindi, who provided him with food, fresh water, and a local pilot to guide his fleet across the Indian Ocean to Calicut (present-day Kozhikode). During the journey, the explorer was permitted to erect a padrão—a stone pillar bearing the Portuguese coat of arms topped with a cross—made of Portuguese limestone. Most historians suggest this took place during his return from India in 1499. However, Gaspar Correia, one of the earliest 16th-century chroniclers, claimed the cross was erected at the end of Vasco da Gama’s initial visit to Malindi. In either case, Correia provides the most detailed account of the padrão’s erection. He stated that the padrão was originally placed on a hill above the harbor on the left side of the city in a very prominent location where the column could be seen from the sea. However, erecting a Christian cross caused discontent among the Sultan’s neighbors, forcing it to be taken down and stored in a warehouse.

Following Vasco da Gama’s 1502–3 voyage to India, a small Portuguese trading post was established in Malindi. By 1509, the factory was the only Portuguese base in the region, managed by an official described as the captain of the Malindi coast. The Sultan of Malindi remained Portugal’s main ally along the East African coast throughout the 16th century.

The padrão crowned with a cross was installed on a low rocky headland facing the ocean at its current site. Its location is marked on Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 world map. The Malindi padrão is the only one of the padrões built by Portuguese sailors along the African coastline to have survived at its original location.

Kenyan postage stamps issued in 1998 celebrated the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s visit. The 42-shilling stamp depicted the column with the artist’s interpretation of the traditional slender height of a padrão, rather than the conical shape of the reinforced column and squat cross seen today.

The column remains Malindi’s most visited heritage site. Restoration work since 2020 includes strengthening the existing seawalls, repairing the column itself, constructing an asphalt access road, and providing onsite toilets for visitors.