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Kenya Information Guide

Nyeri Town Guide: History, Sub locations, Constituency, Population & More

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Nyeri Town Kenya Guide

Nyeri is a town found in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county center of Nyeri County and was the major administrative headquarters of the country’s one-time Central Province. The town is situated approximately 150 km north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, in the country’s densely settled and fertile Central Highlands.

The town lies between the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range, which forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift Valley, and the western gradients of Mount Kenya.

Nyeri Town Photo
Nyeri Town Photo

History of Nyeri Town

Towards the end of 1902, as the British were setting their colonial presence, Richard Meinertzhagen paraded a strong military column meeting intense resistance from the native Kikuyu warriors guided by Wangombe Wa Ihura. The Kikuyu were ultimately defeated. After Meinertzhagen’s success, a decision was reached to site a British post close to a little hill on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. The Kikuyu named the hill Kia-Nyiri while their Maasai neighbours called the hill Na-aier.

The post took its name from the little hill. On 18 December 1902, Nyeri was established. Shortly after the location of the post, a trickle of European settlers and missionaries, and Indian merchants started to migrate into Nyeri and the surrounding areas. The city soon burgeoned into a trading center for white settler farmers who produced cattle, wheat, and coffee.

The city became especially associated with the Happy Valley set in the first half of the twentieth century. The Nyeri Golf Club, The White Rhino Hotel, the Outspan Hotel, and the Aberdare Country Club at the nearby Mweiga township are relics of those colonial days.

Nyeri Kenya: Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya and Nyeri hill are close to each other, as well as the Tetu Hills 50 km to the North East. Approximately 20 km from the city is Mount Kenya National Park. Mount Kenya is an bygone volcano lying astride the Equator. The mountain has two main snow-covered peaks – Batian (5 200 m) and Nelion (5 1880 m). It is the tallest mountain in the country and the second, after Mount Kilimanjaro, in Africa.

The mountain slopes are covered in forest, bamboo, scrub, and moorland giving way on high central peaks to rock, ice, and snow. Its U-shaped glacial valleys, rugged snow-capped peaks, Afro-alpine desert, thirty lakes and eight additional natural forest types, and a variety of wildlife species make it a convergence of natural attractions.

The wildlife encountered in the park includes giant forest hog, tree hyrax, white-tailed mongoose, black leopard, mountain bongo, elephant, black rhino, suni, black-fronted duiker, mole-rat, and over 130 species of birds. Activities taking place in the park include game drives, nature walks, mountain climbing, wildlife viewing, camping, and cave investigation.

Nyeri Town Climate

The climate of Nyeri is impacted by altitude, and it’s pleasantly warm during the day and cool, or even a little chilly, at night. There is a warmer period from January to March and a cooler period from June to August. The city is found on the Kenyan plateau, at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) beyond sea level, between two mountainous areas, the Aberdare Mountains to the west and Mount Kenya to the east.

Economic Activities in Nyeri Town

A significant industry in Nyeri is farming, which is largely unmechanised. The city urban area is part of the surrounding rural areas of greater Nyeri County, with farms within the municipality blending seamlessly into the rural area. The main cash crops are coffee and tea, grown primarily by smallholders who are organized into quasi-private state-supported and supervised co-operatives or companies for farm input distribution, basic processing, and marketing purposes.

The main food crops are maize, the staple food in most of Kenya, legumes (especially beans and peas), tubers (mainly potatoes), and vegetables (especially tomatoes, cabbages, spinaches and kales). Livestock, particularly dairy cattle, goats, sheep, and chicken are furthermore widely kept. Food crop and livestock farming are correspondingly done by smallholders, with marketing and distribution of excess produce (after farmers’ consumption) being done privately.

People of Nyeri Town

Several renowned people have hailed from around Nyeri Town:

  • Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2004)
  • Mwai Kibaki (Kenya’s current president)
  • Dedan Kimathi (a Mau Mau resistance leader)
  • Catherine Ndereba (Olympic marathon Silver Medalist, world marathon champion, four-time Boston Marathon winner and multiple-time winner of Chicago and other marathons).

Nyeri Kenya is the burial place of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, a fighter in the Boer War and the founder of the Scouting movement, who once wrote “the nearer to Nyeri the nearer to bliss”. He and his wife are buried in the town cemetery, along with legendary hunter/conservationist Jim Corbett, the author of Maneaters of Kumaon (1944) who also spent his final years in Kenya. Baden-Powell’s Paxtu cottage, now a small museum, stands on the grounds of the Outspan Hotel.

Places to Visit and Things To Do While in Nyeri Town

 Tourists Attractions 

Mount Kenya: Aberdare National Park

About fifteen Kilometers out of town on the opposite side to Mt. Kenya is the Aberdare National Park. The Aberdares is an older volcanic mountain range with shorter peaks due to longer erosion. It offers views of Mount Kenya and the Great Rift Valley. Its unusual vegetation, rugged terrain, deep ravines cutting through its forested eastern and western slopes, clear water streams, and waterfalls combine to create an area of great scenic beauty.

Its major attractions include the Lesatima and Kinangop peaks and many waterfalls, including the magnificent Karuru Falls which drops 272 meters, and the Gura Falls which drops 305 meters. The park is home to many endangered species including the rare bongo, giant forest hog, packs of the now very rare wild dogs, and endemic mole-rat and mole shrew. Other game include a large population of black rhinos, leopard servile, endemic bird species, reptiles and insects.

Activities include game drives and nature walks. Both brown and rainbow trout abound in the cool mountain streams and provide excellent angling. Within the Park, the Ark and the Treetops Lodges, which are located next to watering holes, offer close proximity night game viewing. It was at Treetops Lodge that Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) was advised of the passing of her father while on a honeymoon retreat, and her ascent to the throne.

The park is also known for the Kimathi hideouts, the Mau Mau Caves, and the Kimathi “post office” where agents used to drop messages for Mau Mau fighters during the guerrilla wars for Kenyan independence.

Other Must See Tourists Attractions in Nyeri Town

  • Paxtu Museum
  • ltalian Memorial Church
  • Native Court (Ruringu)
  • Treetops Lodge
  • Karuru, Chania, Magura and Zaina falls
  • Kimathi Post Office/Mau Mau Caves
  • Coffee and tea farms.

Night Clubs and Nightlife in Nyeri Town

  • Coco Jambo
  • Choices Pub
  • Carribana
  • Island Bar and Lounge
  • Sailors
  • Psys
  • Pitcher And Butch
  • Kengeles
  • Buffet Park
  • Guava
  • Havana Bar & Restaurant
  • Psys Bar
  • Sherehez Lounge & Grill
  • Rafikiz Bar & Lounge
  • Ozone Lounge
  • Quins Bar
  • Volar,club and lounge
  • SkyLux Lounge

 Accommodation and Hotels in Nyeri Kenya

Nyeri Kenya has a wide choice of hotels, lodges, and camps to suit every visitor, ranging from a five-star hotel to guest houses and hostels.

Sub locations in Nyeri County

  • Nyeri Central: The headquarters of this sub-county is in Nyeri
  • Kieni East: One of the sub-counties in Nyeri
  • Kieni West: The headquarters of this sub-county is in Mweiga
  • Mathira East: The headquarters of this sub-county is in Karatina
  • Mathira West: One of the sub-counties in Nyeri
  • Mukurwe-ini: The headquarters of this sub-county is in Mukurwe-ini
  • Tetu: One of the sub-counties in Nyeri
  • Othaya: One of the sub-counties in Nyeri

Locations in Nyeri Central

  • Rware Central Hotel
  • Nyeri Mall
  • Nyeri Central Garage Ltd
  • Nyeri Town Health Centre

Where is Nyeri located in Kenya?

Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya.

Nyeri Town Constituency

Nyeri Town Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It is one of six constituencies in Nyeri County.

Nyeri Town Population

The residents of Nyeri, Kenya are estimated to be 140,338 as of 2019. Nyeri is the capital and biggest town in Nyeri County, which is found in central Kenya.