Attractions in Nairobi County
69. Forest Road Cemetery
Forest Road Cemetery is a large civil cemetery about 3 kms to the north of the city centre, just off the main road to Thika (A2 Nairobi-Isiolo-Moyale Road). It is situated near the roundabout at the Pangani end of Forest Road. The main war graves plot will be situated at the bottom end of the cemetery access road, and there are other scattered war graves within the cemetery. It contains a total of 78 identified casualties from the First and Second World Wars. The Nairobi (Forest Road) War Cemetery is open every day between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm.
70. Muthaiga Golf Club
Founded in 1922 and christened the ‘home of golf in Kenya’, Muthaiga Country Club is in many ways the ultimate embodiment of Kenya’s peculiar marriage of aged golf traditions and a stately 18-Hole Championship Golf Course. To date, Muthaiga Country Club is home to the Kenya Golf Union. On December 29th, 1928, the Kenya Golf Union was inaugurated, and its first member clubs were Eldoret, Gilgil, Kiambu, Kitale, Nairobi and Muthaiga. “The first attempt to form a Golf Union in East Africa, similar to Golf Unions in the United Kingdom and other parts of the Commonwealth, took place at a meeting convened by the late Mr. A. C. Tannahill and held at Nairobi Golf Club (now Royal Nairobi Golf Club) on July 7th, 1923.” – Kenya Golf Union. The Kenya Open, part of the European Tour, was started here in 1967 and remains the biggest golf event in the region. In 2001, the Club engaged services of the well-known South African Golf Course Design and Architect Peter Matkovich (of Matkovich & Hayes) to modernize the course and, to address multiple aspects of the course to make it more joyous to play on. It is found in Muthaiga along Thika and Kiambu Roads.
71. United Nations Visitors Centre
“The United Nations Office at Nairobi, the UN headquarters in Africa, was established by the General Assembly in 1996″. It houses various branches of the United Nations that include UNICEF, UNIDO, UNOPS, UNFPA, WFP, UNCRD, UNEP, UNODC and UN-Habitat, with several agencies like FAO, UN-Women and UNHCR among others tenanting offices at select locations within Nairobi. The United Nations at Nairobi runs different types of tours at their HQ’s, to include, walking tours, UN briefing and green building tour. The tour takes on average one and half hours, and among the highlights include briefing on the ‘green buildings at UN’ and the first certified energy reliant and carbon-neutral buildings in Kenya, a history of the UN’s work in Kenya and Africa, the picture-postcards gardens and friendly hosts. A modest fee is charged for the tour. At least one day prior to your tour, please send a list of participant names and ID numbers to un.tours@un.org. This will be forwarded to UN Security to enable access to the complex. All visitors above 18 years must present a national-issued ID to UN Security for clearance. To get there by car (and be sure to cater for 30 minutes clearance at the gate) drive out along Limuru Road and on UN Avenue.
72. Karura Forest
2.5 kms past the turnoff to Muthaiga Country Club along Kiambu Road brings you to a wonderful forest capped by miles of trails where you can walk or ride through a fairyland of forest, and waterfalls, among the colourful insects, birds and wildlife. A variety of animals have been recorded here to include duikers, bush-bucks, bush pigs, genets, civets, bush babies, porcupines, sykes monkeys, squirrels, hares, epauletted-bat. Reptiles include cobras, pythons, green snakes and monitor lizards. The Forest also has a lake and historically significant caves too. Once through the barrier (having paid a small cover charge of Sh.100 per person), there is a choice of three well signed trails. Popular at Karura Forest, marked by a gently rolling topography occasioned by shallow valleys, are its 15 kms walking trail and its 12 kms cycling trails. You can hire a bike at the main entrance. The 10 km2 Karura Forest, the largest recreational park and forest in Nairobi, is a sustainable environment of indigenous forest, woodland, wetlands and marshland. It is comprised of two blocks namely Karura and Sigiria, and three sections separated by Limuru and Kiambu Roads. Its southern boundary lies along Getathuru River. Since 2005, Karura Forest has been managed by Kenya Forest Service under the Forest Act of 2005. It was originally gazetted in 1932 through Proclamation No. 44 and later Karura Forest became a Central Government Forest Reserve in 1964, under the Kenya Gazette Legal Notice 174.
73. Windsor Golf Club
Ranked as one of “Africa’s Best Golf Resorts” by Business Daily and among the “11 of the world’s top city golf clubs” by CNN, the Victorian styled Windsor Golf Club lacks nothing in beauty and luxury. “What makes the course unique is the fact that it’s carved out of a tropical rainforest,” explains avid local golfer Mike Macharia – CNN. Aside from its fine 18-holes championship golf course, there’s also tennis, squash, cycling and petanque. Accommodation is provided in 130 tastefully-furnished rooms spread across acres of beautiful gardens from where guests can enjoy 4 restaurants, 3 bars, a club house, business centre, gym and spa, scenic jogging track that winds through a tropical forest and a heated pool. It is found 14 kms north of Nairobi in Ridgeways, via Kiambu and Kigwa Roads.
74. Constant Gardener House
The Constant Gardener House, a homespun abode in Muthaiga, is best-known as the film set for the self-titled 2005 BBC screenplay adaptation. The Constant Gardener is a thriller about “a British Diplomat in Kenya, as he tries to decipher the murder of his wife Tessa,” that’s based on the unputdownable book by John Le Carre. The rustic house built in 1919 and set on two acres of lovely variegated gardens, is one of Nairobi’s oldest and notable historic houses. “It was built by Major Andy Anderson, a well-known hunter and safari guide in early colonial Kenya, and surrounded by vast coffee plantations for the first sixty years of its existence. It is furnished and decorated throughout with antique and colonial furniture, family portraits, paintings, photographs and mementoes, and has an excellent and extensive library of books on Africa” Expert Africa. The Constant Gardener House, which sleeps 5, is a fine getaway to walk into a bygone colonial epoch. It is located in Muthaiga, nearby the United Nations and Village Market.
75. Eye of Kenya at Two Rivers
Nothing brings the city’s outline appreciably closer than the glass-walled pods of Nairobi’s latest signature attraction at Two Rivers Mall. Promising a moving experience at every turn, once you gather up the courage to take a ride, it offers an imperial sight at the top and is a thrill for all ages. Set at the extreme north-western corner of Nairobi, the 60-metres-high cantilevered observation wheel with 40 capsules each sitting 6 passenger – accommodating 240 at full capacity – has a beyond-money vantage view of Nairobi. It is open daily from 8:00 am to 8:30 pm and costs Shs 500 per passenger. In spite of the fact that it completes one revolution in 17-minutes, faster than most of the famous wheels around the world, it is a big highlight at Two Rivers Mall taking into consideration that 121 years since its invention it is a first in Kenya. There’s plenty more to do at Two Rivers Mall to include: hanging out at the Funscapes Themepark; rolling out in fun at Oswear Skates Park which features hover boards, skateboards and roller skaters; dining at one of 25 restaurants overlooking the riverfront; enjoying the dancing fountains; or shopping in one of over 20 high-flying fashion brands. It is located 10 kms past Karura Forest along Kiambu Road onto Northern Bypass.
Abiri Kenya 