Nyeri is a town in Kenya, about 180 km north of the capital Nairobi.
It lies at the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range. That range forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift Valley and lies on the western side of Mount Kenya. Nyeri town is the administrative headquarters of Central Province and Nyeri District. The population was 98,908 in the 1999 census.
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The local scenery includes Mount Kenya. The main industry is farming. Coffee and tea are the main cash crops: maize is the staple food. There are many tourist destinations nearby.
1. History
Nyeri, Kenya is the headquarters of Central Province (click to enlarge map)
In the early colonial days, Nyeri was a garrison, but it soon burgeoned into a trading centre for white farmers who produced cattle, wheat and coffee. They also came into town to drink and socialize. The White Rhino Hotel, Outspan Hotel, and the Aberdare Country Club at nearby Mweiga are living reminders of the old days.
A number of renowned people have hailed from Nyeri, most notably Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2004, Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s third president, Dedan Kimathi, a general in the Mau Mau war against the British colonizers, and Catherine Ndereba, Olympic marathon Silver Medalist, four time Boston Marathon winner and multiple time winner of Chicago and other marathons.
The Wajee Nature Park lies just south of the town. It is now the burial place of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, a fighter in the Boer War and the founder of the Scouting movement. He once wrote “the nearer to Nyeri the nearer to bliss”. Baden-Powell’s Paxtu cottage, now a small museum, stands on the grounds of the Outspan Hotel. He and his wife are buried in the town cemetery along with legendary hunter/conservationist Jim Corbett author of Maneaters of Kumaon (1944) who also spent his final years in Kenya.
About 5 km along the road from the site of Baden-Powell’s grave is the Mathari Mission settlement, which was constructed by Italian missionaries at the beginning of the 20th Century. The mission is home to a number of dwellings, stalls and the Consolatta hospital and School of Nursing. The hospital provides free care to the people of the surrounding area free of charge, and has a private wing for more wealthy patients. It is staffed largely by nuns of the Consolata order.
2. Background
