Originally known as Thomson’s Falls after its 74-metre-high cascade, Nyahururu is a traditional town north-east of Nakuru. It’s the main hub of a largely agricultural region in the Great Rift Valley and is a popular training destination for long-distance runners due to its high-altitude setting.
Things to do in Nyahururu
Feel the spray from the plummeting waters of Thomson’s Falls, which cascades into a lush river valley east of the town centre. It forms part of the Ewaso Narok River as it drains from the mighty Aberdare mountain ranges and has garnered a reputation for the noisy troop of baboons that inhabit its surrounding cliffs.
If you’re a keen golfer, enjoy a round on the nine-hole course at the Nyahururu Golf Club, which was established in 1936. Soccer matches are regularly held at Nyahururu Stadium, with this sporting complex providing a training camp for the national athletics team who represented Kenya at the 1968 Olympic Games.
A short drive south of Nyahururu is Lake Nakuru National Park, with its bird-filled soda lake protected under the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Importance. Black and white rhinos, zebras and Rothschild’s giraffes can be spotted on game drives through the surrounding grasslands, together with warthogs and baboons. An escarpment soars above the waters of Lake Nakuru, while stunning nature views can be captured from its hiking trails.
Getting around Nyahururu
Nyahururu is around 3.5 hours’ drive from Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which has flights to destinations across the globe. Buses and matatus connect Nyahururu with towns and villages across the region while boda-boda motorcycle taxis are available for getting around town.