Nanyuki - City of Kenya

Nanyuki is a market town in central Kenya, lying north west of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. It was founded in 1907 by British settlers, some of whose descendants still live in and around the town. Nanyuki is now the main airbase of the Kenya Air Force. The British Army also keeps a base from where it conducts yearly training exercises on the mountain and in the arid areas to the north. Nanyuki is the capital of Laikipia East District. Apart from a town hall, therefore, it also houses the district headquarters.

Nanyuki had an urban population of 31,577 in 1999 . Most members of the population earn their money through trade. Shops in the town supply many farms, ranches and game parks in a wide circle. Originally, most shops were owned by Indians, who still form a sizable part of the population. Climbers and backpackers visit Nanyuki on their way to or from Mount Kenya along the Sirimon and Burguret routes and many other tourists pass through the town. Nanyuki therefore has many hotels, of which Mount Kenya Safari Club and Sportsman’s Arms Hotel are the best known.

Other hotels include Lion’s Court, Equatorial Hotel, Mount Kenya Paradise Hotel and Joskaki Hotel. The oldest restaurant in town is Marina and it is still fairly popular. Several years ago, a restaurant was opened south of Nanyuki built inside a huge tree. Named “Trout Tree Restaurant” its main attraction is obviously trout prepared in various ways. Patrons can also visit the trout breeding installation at the foot of the tree.

Nanyuki can be reached by air. Its airport lies 6.5 km south of the town and is served by light aircraft. There is a regular air service by Air Kenya, which is very convenient for businessmen and tourists in view of the bad state of the road from Nairobi. Tourists can visit a number of parks and reserves in the vicinity of Nanyuki, the most obvious one being Mount Kenya National Park. Others are Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Samburu National Reserve and Shaba National Reserve.

Nanyuki has some of the cleanest water in Kenya since the water supply source is a river on Mt. Kenya. The entire water system is gravity fed from the supply to the sewer system.

Academic institutions in Nanyuki include Nanyuki High School, St Christopher's School Brickwoods High School, Nanyuki Primary School, Nkando Primary school and others. It is the headquarters for the youth organisation Kenayodemo.