Nyeri town is situated about 150 km north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, in the country’s densely populated and fertile Central Highlands, lying between the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range, which forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift Valley, and the western slopes of Mount Kenya.
The majority of Nyeri residents are black Africans from Kenya’s largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu language is therefore widely spoken, along with Kenya’s national language, Kiswahili as well as Kenya’s official language, English. Black Africans from other Kenyan ethnic groups (most of them being state and private sector employees) make up a small minority, with the rest of the population comprising Kenyans of Asian origin and a small white
The most imposing landmark around Nyeri is Mount Kenya, and starting from about twenty kilometers out of town is the Mount Kenya National Park. Mount Kenya is an imposing extinct volcano lying strategically astride the Equator. The mountain has two main peaks – Batian (5200m) and Nelion (5188m). It is the highest mountain in the country and the second, after Kilimanjaro, in Africa. It has two main snow covered peaks, Batian and Nelion.
Its slopes are cloaked 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 different natural forest types and a variety of wildlife species make it a convergence of natural attractions. The wildlife found in the park include giant forest hog, tree hyrax, white tailed mongoose, black leopard, bongo, elephant, black rhino, suni, black fronted duiker, mole-rat and over 130 species of birds.
Activities carried out in the park include game drives, nature walks, mountain climbing, wildlife viewing, camping and cave exploration.
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 drop 272 meters, and the Gura Falls which drop 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 rhino, 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 own 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.
People
A number of renowned people have hailed from around Nyeri:
- 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 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.