Nandi Hills is a town and also an electoral constituency in Kenya's Nandi County.The name also refers to the general area of Nandi County, where the urban settlement is located. Its current Member of Parliament is Hon. Bernard Kibor Kitur of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.

Location

Nandi Hills is located in a highland area of Lush Green Rolling Hills at the edge of the

Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley () is a series of contiguous geographic depressions, approximately 6,000 or in total length, the definition varying between sources, that runs from the southern Turkish Hatay Province in Asia, through the Red Sea, to Moz ...

in the southwestern part of Kenya. It is located approximately , by road, northwest of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and largest city in the country. The coordinates of Nandi Hills, Kenya are: 0°06'01.0"N, 35°10'35.0"E (Latitude: 0.100278; Longitude: 35.176389). Nandi Hills lies an elevation of approximately , above sea level.

Overview

The small town named ''Nandi Hills'', is often referred to as the "cradle land of Kenyan running". The area is home to many world-renowned athletes, including

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a long line of successful m ...

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

, Janeth Jepkosgei, Augustine Choge, Wilfred Bungei,

Henry Rono Henry Rono (12 February 1952 – 15 February 2024) was a Kenyan track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific collegia ...

and Mike Boit. The area is mostly inhabited by the

Nandi people The Nandi are part of the Kalenjin, an ethnic community living in East Africa. The Nandi ethnic group live in close association and relation with the Kipsigis tribe. They traditionally have lived and still form the majority in the highland are ...

. Nandi Hills has a cool and wet climate with two rain seasons during the equinoxes. Temperatures vary between 18 °C and 24 °C which coupled with the rich volcanic soils make the area ideal for growing tea. The scenic area is known for its many tea estates. There is also a golf course, Nandi Bears Club, where several annual tournaments are held annually such as the Gill Trophy, the Kenya Ladies' Golf Union and the prestigious Kenya Breweries Festival of Golf besides rally and cross countries. It is a very significant area of Rift Valley province and the Kalenjin community. It was a battleground against the Luo and

Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to: * Luhya people * Luhya language {{disambig Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

communities and the burial site of the renowned Nandi seer Koitalel Arap Samoei. He is buried under a symbolic tree. On top of Nandi Hills sits Samoei with its red earth. When Koitalel was killed by British officer

Richard Meinertzhagen Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO (3 March 1878 – 17 June 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist. He had a decorated military career spanning Africa and the Middle East. He was credited with creating an ...

, some believe the ground turned red on the spot of his death.

Local economy

The economy of Nandi Hills relies mainly on the surrounding tea estates. Many people work on tea farms as pluckers, managers, field maintenance, factory service works, official duties and business. Nandi Hills town has barely a tarmac street despite a lot of taxes accrued from tea farms.

Transportation

The transport system in Nandi Hills is mainly land-based via tarmac. The Nandi Hills road network connects it to major Kenyan cities including

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

Nakuru Nakuru (nicknamed Nax) is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and it is the fourth largest city in Kenya and the largest in the Rift Valley region. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban population of 570, ...

, Kericho,

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

and, ultimately,

and

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 00, 06, 01, N, 35, 10, 35, E, display=title Mountain ranges of Kenya Populated places in Nandi County