Nanyuki

Nanyuki
Nanyuki
Town
	Nanyuki main street
	Nanyuki Location in Kenya
	Coordinates: 0°01′N 37°04′E / 0.017°N 37.067°E
Country	Kenya
County	Laikipia County
Government
• Governor	Joshua Irungu
Population (2019)
• Total	72,813

Nanyuki is a market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. The name is derived from Enyaanyukie Maasai word for resemblance.

It is situated just north of the

Archer's Post

.

History

Maasai herders found red ochre in Nanyuki, the ground resembled roan coated cattle. The town saw

Mau Mau Uprising, Digby raised a volunteer mounted police force at his own expense and led them against the Mau Mau.^[1]

[2] The town is noted for small- and large-scale farms, ranches and pastoral lands, and wildlife conservancies. It is also the base for people seeking to climb Mount Kenya. Nanyuki sits almost directly on the Equator, and Equator Markers erected by the governments of Kenya and Nanyuki alongside A2 are famous.

Climate

Nanyuki is relatively cool year-round, experiences weakly trimodal rainfall, with a distinct dry season in January and February.

Climate data for Nanyuki
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	25 (77)	26 (79)	25 (77)	23 (74)	23 (73)	23 (74)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (76)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (74)	24 (75)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	7 (45)	8 (47)	9 (49)	11 (51)	10 (50)	9 (48)	8 (47)	8 (47)	8 (46)	8 (47)	9 (49)	8 (47)	9 (48)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	13 (0.5)	23 (0.9)	46 (1.8)	120 (4.7)	81 (3.2)	51 (2)	69 (2.7)	66 (2.6)	48 (1.9)	64 (2.5)	86 (3.4)	38 (1.5)	700 (27.5)
Source: Weatherbase^[3]

Economy and overview

Nanyuki municipality had an

Mau Mau Uprising

.

There is little large-scale industry in Nanyuki. The Mount Kenya Textile (Mountex) Mills went bankrupt in 1978, was reopened briefly under new management, but eventually closed.^[5] There have been a number of sawmills in Nanyuki. However, with the almost total ban on tree felling on Mount Kenya (sometimes indifferently enforced), these either closed down or are now eking out a difficult existence.^[6] Recently, large horticultural operations have come to the Nanyuki area, including Likii flower farm, Traco farm, Kongoni farm and several others along Nanyuki- Timau road. The revived railway transport between Nanyuki and Nairobi has increased trade in the town. Main retail centers are Cieni, Cedar Mall and Quick Mart.

A city park lies in the centre of the town and two rivers, the Nanyuki and LikiI Rivers, pass through it. The Equator passes through the southern part of Nanyuki. One crosses it when approaching Nanyuki on the A2 from the south. This spot is popular with tourists who have themselves photographed there. Some people are usually at hand to show them the supposed effect of the Coriolis force, which they say makes draining water swirl clockwise or anticlockwise depending on whether one is on the northern or southern hemisphere, though as noted in the article about the Coriolis force, the effect is detectable only in the laboratory and the "demonstrations" at the Equator are merely engaging diversions.

Tourism

The

Fly SAX, which is convenient for businessmen and tourists. The town is also served by a paved road from Nairobi, and northward to northern Kenya. Tourists can visit a number of parks and reserves in the vicinity of Nanyuki, the most obvious one being Mount Kenya National Park. The Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club host large numbers of tourists seeking a luxury safari experience. The hotel has 120 luxury rooms with views of Mount Kenya alongside the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy which together with William Holden Wildlife Foundation aims to breed and reintroduce the endangered bongo back into Mount Kenya.^[7] Others are Ol Pejeta Conservancy,^[8] and further afield Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Aberdare National Park, Samburu National Reserve and Shaba National Reserve.^{[citation needed}

]

Nanyuki has some of the cleanest water in Kenya because the source originates from Mt. Kenya. The entire water system is gravity fed, from the supply to the sewer system.

Education

Academic institutions in Nanyuki include Nanyuki High School, Moi Equator Girls' High School, St Christopher's School (formerly the Beehive School), Braeburn International School Nanyuki, Nanyuki Primary School, Mary Immaculate Primary School, Baraka School, Brickwoods School, St. Jude Nturukuma secondary, Loise Girls high school, and others.