Things to do in Nanyuki
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Nanyuki
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Short dry season, prime Sirimon climbing and clear early morning Mount Kenya views, hot and dry in Laikipia.
Long rains at their heaviest, muddy climb trails, 4x4 needed for forest roads and Ngare Ndare pools can run brown.
Rains easing into the long dry season; Lewa Safari Marathon in late June and Rhino Charge in early June tighten rooms.
Long dry season, best game viewing and climbing and firmest roads, with cold town nights in July and August and peak prices.
Short rains, climbing possible in gaps but unreliable and conservancy roads can soften.
Often dries out into a good festive window at peak prices after the short rains.
What's on
- Lewa Safari Marathon Usually a Saturday in late June
Full, half and 10k races through Lewa Conservancy at altitude, organised by Tusk with Lewa; entries capped and rooms tighten.
- Rhino Charge early June, venue announced late
Off-road motoring fundraiser for Rhino Ark, often in or near Laikipia, with the venue kept secret until shortly before.
Best things to do in Nanyuki
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
The day safari from Nanyuki, Big Five and black rhino 20 to 40 minutes away, with the last northern white rhinos as a paid extra.
Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Kenya's only chimp sanctuary, inside Ol Pejeta, where over 40 rescued chimps live in large natural enclosures.
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy
A guided orphanage walk built around breeding the critically endangered mountain bongo, ideal for families and short gaps.
Equator Marker
The free roadside equator photo stop 6.5 km south of town, worth 15 minutes on the way to safari, not a day trip alone.
Solio Game Reserve
A quiet private reserve famous for dense white rhino viewing, the connoisseur second safari day from Nanyuki.
Where to stay in Nanyuki
Mount Kenya Safari Club and equator side
luxury base and families
Home to the Fairmont club and the wildlife conservancy orphanage, quiet and green south of town on the equator.
Nanyuki town and Nyeri-Nanyuki road
mid range, budget and early starts
The practical base with garden hotels, the budget Ibis, malls, taxis and the fastest road out to Ol Pejeta and Sirimon.
Borana Conservancy
conservation splurge stays
Lodge based Laikipia immersion with horse safaris, reached as a destination stay rather than a town hotel.
Maiyan area
groups and family villas
Villa resort living about 5 km from town, suited to groups filling a villa and using Nanyuki as a service town.
Think twice about
- Nanyuki town centre after dark on foot
Busy and poorly lit around the market and matatu stage with petty theft risk. Walk by day and take a taxi at night.
Best restaurants in Nanyuki
Le Rustique Restaurant
Nanyuki's fine dining name, French and Mediterranean cooking in a garden setting on Mount Kenya Road.
Trout Tree Restaurant
Lunch in a fig tree by the Burguret River, serving trout from its own ponds with colobus monkeys overhead.
Kongoni Camp
Steaks, wood fired pizza and strong coffee at a camp restaurant on the edge of town with Mount Kenya views.
Barney's Bar and Restaurant
The airstrip cafe ritual, coffee, pizza and breakfast from 7am while small safari planes come and go.
Morani's Restaurant
The simple daytime cafe and nyama choma stop at the Morani centre, built to feed the Ol Pejeta safari day.
Nyama Choma Village
Local grilled meat by weight with ugali, how Nanyuki itself eats out at a fraction of safari cafe prices.
Outdoor things to do in Nanyuki
Sirimon Gate
The Nanyuki climbing gate for a guided 4 to 5 day trek via Old Moses and Shipton's to Point Lenana at 4,985 metres.
Ngare Ndare Forest Trust
Indigenous forest with a 450 metre canopy walk and swimmable blue pools, visited with a mandatory armed ranger guide.
Lolldaiga Conservancy
The closest wild Laikipia hills to town, for guided walks, drives and horse riding by prior arrangement only.
Borana Conservancy
A big rhino conservancy famous for horse safaris, experienced mainly by staying at its lodges for two nights or more.
Mount Kenya National Park
Guided day walks on the lower Sirimon and Burguret forest slopes for a taste of the mountain without altitude risk.
Best hotels in Nanyuki
Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club
The 1959 country club splurge in 100 acres on the equator, with golf, a pool and the animal orphanage in its grounds.
Borana Lodge
Six stone and thatch cottages inside Borana Conservancy, a conservation funded luxury stay with horse safaris.
Maiyan Villas
Private villas at a resort 5 km from town, best value when a family or group fills a whole villa together.
Falcon Heights Hotel
A calm boutique garden hotel with a pool, the sensible mid range default for couples in Nanyuki.
Soames Hotel & Jack's Bar
A garden hotel with a well liked bar near the airstrip side of town, well placed for an early Ol Pejeta start.
Ibis Hotel Nanyuki
A basic central budget bed used by climbers for price and location, with tired rooms and mixed recent feedback.
Is Nanyuki expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KES 9,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KES 25,000 a person |
| Splurge | KES 75,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ol Pejeta Conservancy: a few days ahead
- Solio Game Reserve: a few days ahead
- Sirimon Gate: weeks ahead
- Ngare Ndare Forest Trust: a few days ahead
- Lolldaiga Conservancy: a few days ahead
- Borana Conservancy: weeks ahead
- Mount Kenya National Park: a few days ahead
- Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club: weeks ahead
- Book Ngare Ndare ahead through the Forest Trust and pay by M-Pesa; an armed ranger guide is mandatory.
- Book the Sirimon climb with a licensed operator weeks ahead and allow 4 to 5 days, never a rushed 2 day attempt.
- Book conservancy lodges and Lewa Marathon weekend accommodation well ahead in the June to October dry season.
Is Nanyuki safe?
- On Mount Kenya, descend if altitude symptoms worsen; Nanyuki at 1,950 metres does not acclimatise you for 4,985 metres.
- In town, walk by day, take a taxi after dark and keep valuables out of sight in crowded market areas.
Nanyuki travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not pay standalone tour prices for the equator marker; it is a free 15 minute roadside stop.
- Do not mistake safari cafe prices for local prices; nyama choma and local cafes cost a fraction as much.
- Do not treat Borana as a drive-in day park; it is mainly for lodge guests staying two nights or more.
Getting around Nanyuki: public transport and more
- Nanyuki is 3 to 4 hours by road from Nairobi or about 45 minutes by flight from Wilson Airport to Nanyuki Airstrip.
- Use taxis and boda bodas in town and agree the fare first; hire a driver and vehicle for conservancy and mountain days.
- Insist on a 4x4 for Ngare Ndare after rain, when the dirt access road deteriorates.
Who Nanyuki suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Nanyuki your trip
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