Nyeri District
Nyeri is a town and a district in Kenya about 120km north of the capital Nairobi. It lies at the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range that form part of the eastern end of the Great Rift Valley and on the western side of Mount Kenya. Nyeri town is the administrative headquarters of Central Province. The population was 98,908 in the 1999 census.
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.
The local scenery includes Mount Kenya. The main industry is farming. Coffee and tea are the main cash crops and maize is the staple food. There are many tourist destinations nearby.
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 the burial place of Lord Robert Baden-Powell a hero of 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.
5km 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 Centuary. 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.
