Machakos County

The Nexus of Ukambani

A Summa Digest of Machakos

The geography of Machakos County is diverse, with fertile highlands supporting agriculture and arid lowlands ideal for cattle ranching. Its proximity to Nairobi has spurred marked growth, while its natural attractions are touring gems. The mid-north area of the poodle-shaped county carries fantastic scenery enlivened by a chain of picturesque hills. Ol Doinyo Sabuk, sometimes known as Kilimambogo, the highest in the county, forming a triangular isolated mass wooded in the upper reaches, is a top-rated hiking destination. The belt of highland southerly is taken up by Kanzalu, Iveti, Mua, Machakos more proper Kiima Kimwe and Lukenya Hills.

Below these hill scapes, marching south and eastward to the more arid parts of Ukambani, the flat volcanic plains commence at an altitude of about 5,000 feet, from Ol Doinyo Sapuk and Mua-Iveti Range. Thanks to its surpassing location, the whole of the county is supplied with good lines of communication, including two stations along the modish Nairobi-Mombasa Railway. The climate over much of the northern half of Machakos County is pleasant for much of the year and similar to that of Nairobi County. Rainfall is moderate and fairly uniform across the area.

Machakos County spreads over 5,953 km2 in the south-western quarter of Kenya, along the boundaries with Makueni County (south), Kajiado County (south-west), Nairobi and Kiambu Counties (west), Kirinyaga and Muranga Counties (north-west), Embu County (north) and Kitui County (east). Its area extends from the east side of the Kapiti Plains southeast of Nairobi, to the west side of Mbooni Hills west of Athi river, as a dissected plain surrounded the hills. It is approachable from the north by an 88 km drive along the B7 Embu-Siakago Road to Kanyonyoo Market, and then a drive of 83 km along the A3 Thika-Garissa Road via Matuu and Sabuk to Thika. Masinga Dam and Mwea National Reserve straddle its northern frontier.

The fast developing road system has made organization to places of interest in Machakos County much easier. While tourism industry is only partly developed, there are enormous possibilities for improvement. Still and all, most of its fabled hills are easily reached on a drive of a little over 65 km from Nairobi to Machakos, its largest. Those who arrive at Machakos, using it as a jumping-off place, can opt to hike, walk, ride or drive through many hillocks to be found here. Lukenya Hills, easily recognizable by the scarps on its abrupt nose-end trending in a north-east strike close to the shoulder of the A104 Mombasa Road is a liked hiking trail, too.

At the moment, Ol Donyo Sabuk Park to the north has been the most successful at attracting travellers to Machakos County, largely because of  Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, nearby fourteen falls and MacMillan Castle. Formerly the haunt of sizeable colonial farmlands, with cattle raiders and plentiful wildlife which from time to time swooped into the hamlets in search of food, this remote typically African bushland has a lot to offer, both in lovely scenery and presenting nature at its least disturbed stage. Beyond here, the north Machakos-Thika area, in contrast to the area south of it, is less hilly and comprised up of ancient rocks to the east.

No mention of Machakos County and its self-same capital of Machakos would be complete without its tantalizing history. Beautifully sited on a sheltered enclave below Mua and Iveti Hills, with Kiima Kimwe standing sentinel at the entrance of the U-shape formed by the latter, creating a pleasant microclimate, Machakos is often romanticized as the capital city of Kenya that never was! The present site of the town was first occupied by the Akamba way back in the 16th century, ergo Maasai raids forced them to spread across their homeland. As the colonial era wend in, the importance of Machakos came under the limelight as a railhead of the Uganda railway. In 1903 Machakos was gazetted as a township under the East African Township Ordinance, with a boundary radius of 3 kilometers from the fort.

As things were taking shape, with Swahili and Indian traders settling in, and the colonial government warming into Fort Machakos, the paramount chief of Iveti, Mbole Mathambio, signed a treaty in 1906 with IBEACo which enabled the British colonialists to claim that the Akamba had given their consent to become ruled by the British. It’s often said that the new name Machakos was contrived after the British were unable to pronounce the name Masaku, its native epithet. In short order, the eastern half of what we now call Machakos County was designated as part of the Kamba Native Land Unit, while the remainder of the area mapped, including the pleasant town area and hilly farmland were occupied by Europeans.

Machakos town remained a residential area during the colonial period. Settler Europeans lived in Machakos station, while Indians and Swahili, traders, rented plots at the station for business holdings. The permanent population of Machakos station in 1907 consisted of 6 Europeans 47 Indians and 140 Africans. All other communities except Europeans paid rent to land officers, 140.22 rupees a year. Likewise, the colonial office imposed strict decrees to control overcrowding in Machakos station. The town served as a key administrative center towards control of the colony by the British. The presence of the fort spurred the transformation of Machakos town from being a traditional town to a developed and modern town.

Salient Features of Machakos County

  • County Number 16
  • Area – 5953 km2
  • Altitude – 3734 ft
  • Major Towns – Machakos, Athi River
  • Borders – Nairobi, Kiambu, Embu, Kitui, Makueni, Kajiado, Muranga

Part of the larger Ukambani alongside Kitui and Makueni, Machakos County is a nexus between Maasailand, the coast region, the central highlands, and Nairobi. The northern area of Machakos, being a dormitory zone for the capital of Nairobi and a peri-urban buffer for Kiambu, is developed with useful amenities. Southerly heading the ecology is continually semi-arid and the countryside more desolate.

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Explore Destinations in Machakos County

A Guide to Machakos County



A Summa Digest of Machakos

About Machakos Way Back When

45 Destinations in Machakos County, arranged as one would visit these - north, south, east then north - with aid of in-depth narratives, images, maps and distance chart:

Makuyu Ridge, Masinga Dam, Seven Forks Circuit, Mwea National Reserve, Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park, Ol Donyo Sapuk Resort, MacMillan Castle, Fourteen Falls, Yatta Plateau, Kanzalu Range, AIC Kangundo, The Komarock Shrine, Hyena Caves, Kitonga Garden Resort, The Thui Stone, African Heritage House, Athi-Kapiti Conservancy, Kwa Kyelu Wildlife Sanctuary, The Whistling Moran, Stony-Athi, Small World Country Club, Swara Plains Conservancy, Lukenya Hills, Kikao Camping Farm, Lukenya Motocross, Maanzoni Sanctuary, Amazing Kenya Retreat, Chumvi Tamu Camp, Konza Technopolis, Machakos Peoples Park, Masaku Flea and Curio Market, Old Fort of Machakos, Gelian Hotel, Kiima Kimwe, Machakos Golf Course, Mua Hills, Mua Hills Tented Camp, Iveti Forest Reserve, AIC Mumbuni, Kituluni Hill, Kamuthanga Farm, Wamunyu Handicrafts

Know More About Machakos County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments

What’s The Air Like in Machakos?

Climate in much of the area is pleasant and similar to that of Nairobi, with temperature varying between 18oC and 29oC. And, rain is heaviest in March, April and September.

What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.16?

Machakos County has rather unique topographical map – Hills and a small plateau in the mid area, a large plateau elevated in the south, and isolated hillscape in the north.

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