Nyandarua is county 018 of Kenya’s 47, in the former Central Province, with its capital at Ol Kalou. The 2019 census counted 638,289 residents across 3,107.7 km², a density of about 205 people per km². The county takes its name from the Aberdare Range, which the Kikuyu call Nyandarua, “the drying hide”, after the ridge line’s shape.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Capital | Ol Kalou |
| County code | 018 |
| Population (2019 census) | 638,289 |
| Area | 3,107.7 km² |
| Former province | Central |
| Sub-counties | 5 |
| Main languages | Kikuyu, Swahili, English |
Towns and Villages in Nyandarua County
Ol Kalou is the county headquarters and Ol Joro Orok, Njabini, Engineer, Mairo Inya and Ndaragwa are the other main trading centres. Many place names on the list below end in “Settlement”: these are the land settlement schemes created after independence, when former White Highlands farms were subdivided and sold to smallholder co-operatives. They are separate mapped places from the older centres that share their names.
| Town | Type | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Ol Kalou | Town, county capital | 47,795 |
| Mairo Inya | Town | 30,527 |
| Engineer | Town | 5,324 |
| Ndunyu Njeru | Town | 4,354 |
| South Kinangop | Town | 3,929 |
| Kasuku | Trading centre | 2,209 |
| Ol Joro Orok | Trading centre | 2,116 |
- Bongo
- Brynglas
- Dondori
- Dundori
- Engineer
- Gatarwa
- Gathundia
- Gatondo
- Geta
- Githima
- Githioro
- Githioro Settlement
- Heni Village
- Hill Side
- Howbury Lower
- Ikamira
- Kabati
- Kaheho
- Kahuru
- Kambaa
- Kanyagia Settlement
- Kanyanya
- Karagoini Settlement
- Karai Settlement
- Karati Settlement
- Karima
- Kasuku
- Kendurumu
- Kinga
- Kipata
- Kipipiri
- Kipipiri Settlement
- Kiriko
- Kitiri Settlement
- Kitogo
- Leshau
- Lesirko Settlement
- Magomano
- Magumu
- Mahindu
- Mai Mahoro
- Mairo Inya
- Malewa
- Malewa Settlement
- Matindiri Settlement
- Mawingo
- Mawingo Settlement
- Melangini Settlement
- Miharati
- Mkungi Settlement
- Mugumo
- Mukeo
- Mukuru
- Munyeki
- Muruaki Settlement
- Mutamaiyu
- Mutarakwa
- Nandarasi
- Nandarasi Settlement
- Ndaragwa
- Ndaragwa Settlement
- Ndiara
- Ndunyu Njeru
- Ndururi
- Nenepa
- Ngano
- Ngorika Settlement
- Njabini
- Njoya
- North Kinangop
- Nyairoko Settlement
- Nyaituga
- Nyamdundo
- Nyandarua
- Ol Aragwai Settlement
- Ol Joro Orok
- Ol Joro Orok West Settlement
- Ol Kalau South Settlement
- Ol Kalou
- Ol Kalou Settlement
- Ol Mogogo
- Ol Orongoti Settlement
- Oraimutia Settlement
- Orper
- Passenga Settlement
- Pesi Settlement
- Rudisha
- Rurie
- Rutara
- Rwanyambo
- Sabugo
- Sabugo Settlement
- Sasumua
- Shamata Settlement
- Silanga Settlement
- Silibwet Settlement
- Simbara Settlement
- South Kinangop
- South Kinangop Settlement
- Tulaga
- Tumaini
- Turasha
- Turasha Ridge Settlement
- Upper Gilgil
- Upper Gilgil Settlement
- Wanjohi
- Wanjohi Settlement
- Weru Settlement
- Windmill
- Wishipon
Geography
Nyandarua sits on the floor of the Rift Valley’s eastern shoulder, between the Aberdare Range to the east and the Rift escarpment to the west. Most of the county lies above 2,000 m, and the Kinangop plateau and Kipipiri massif rise past 3,000 m, which makes Nyandarua one of the coldest inhabited parts of Kenya. Night frost is normal in the Kinangop highlands between June and August.
The Aberdare National Park covers the eastern edge. Rivers rising on the range — the Malewa, Turasha, Pesi and Wanjohi — drain west into Lake Naivasha or north into the Ewaso Narok. The Sasumua and Turasha dams on the eastern slopes are part of Nairobi’s water supply. Rainfall is bimodal, roughly 700 mm to 1,600 mm a year, with the long rains from March to May.
Nyandarua borders five counties: Laikipia County to the north, Nyeri County to the east, Murang’a County to the south-east, Kiambu County to the south and Nakuru County to the west.
Demographics
The 2019 KNBS census recorded 638,289 residents, split close to evenly between women and men. Average density is about 205 people per km², but it is far higher on the Kinangop plateau and in the Ol Kalou basin than on the cold upper moorland, which is largely uninhabited.
The population is overwhelmingly Kikuyu, and Kikuyu is the everyday language alongside Swahili and English. Much of the county was settled only in the 1960s and 1970s, when the schemes brought in families from Murang’a, Nyeri and Kiambu. Many villages here carry names transplanted from those counties.
Economy and Local Life
Nyandarua is Kenya’s leading potato county. The cold, high, volcanic soils suit Irish potatoes, cabbages, carrots, garden peas and kale, and lorries move produce nightly to Nairobi’s Wakulima market. Dairy is the second pillar: smallholder herds of Friesian and Ayrshire cattle deliver to collection points across Kinangop and Ol Joro Orok.
Pyrethrum was the classic Nyandarua cash crop and is being replanted after decades of decline. Sheep are kept for wool and mutton on the higher ground. Ol Kalou, Njabini, Engineer and Mairo Inya hold the main produce markets. Cold-chain and grading sheds have been built at several of them to cut post-harvest losses.
History
Almost all of what is now Nyandarua lay inside the White Highlands, the block of land reserved for European farming from 1902. It was run as large cattle and wheat ranches, and African residence was restricted to labour on those farms. The Aberdare forest above it was a Mau Mau base through the Emergency of the 1950s.
After independence the government bought out the farms and subdivided them through settlement schemes. These were sold to smallholder co-operatives drawn largely from Murang’a, Nyeri and Kiambu. That programme created the county’s present settlement map, and it is why so many places here are still called by their scheme names. Nyandarua District was carved out in 1963 and became a county in 2013.
Getting There
Ol Kalou is about 150 km from Nairobi. The usual approach is the A8 Nairobi–Naivasha highway to the Rift, then north through Gilgil, or the climb over the Aberdares from Nyeri. The B5 links Nyahururu with Nyeri across the county’s northern end, and the C69 runs Nyahururu–Ol Kalou.
From the south, the road from Naivasha up the escarpment reaches South Kinangop, Njabini and Engineer. Matatus work all these routes daily from Nairobi’s Nyamakima and River Road stages. There is no commercial airport in the county; the nearest scheduled flights are at Nanyuki, and light aircraft use airstrips on the larger farms.
FAQ
What is the capital of Nyandarua County?
Ol Kalou is the county headquarters. It sits in the centre of the county, about 150 km from Nairobi.
How many towns and villages are in Nyandarua County?
This page lists 110 mapped towns, villages, trading centres and settlement schemes in Nyandarua County.
What are the sub-counties of Nyandarua?
Nyandarua has five sub-counties, matching its constituencies: Kinangop, Kipipiri, Ol Kalou, Ol Jorok and Ndaragwa.
What is the population of Nyandarua County?
The 2019 census counted 638,289 people in Nyandarua County, over an area of 3,107.7 km².
Which counties border Nyandarua?
Laikipia to the north, Nyeri to the east, Murang’a to the south-east, Kiambu to the south and Nakuru to the west.
What is Nyandarua known for growing?
Potatoes above all, plus cabbages, carrots, peas, dairy milk, wool and pyrethrum. It is Kenya’s largest potato-producing county.