- Nairobi started as a British railroad camp
At the height of colonialism, the British wanted to construct a railroad connecting Mombasa and Kisumu in bid to open East Africa for trade and encourage their citizens to stay in the region. Construction work started in 1896.
In 1899, they build a camp and supply depot for construction workers in a region inhabited by the Maasai. The Maasai had called the land Enkare Nairobi because of its cool waters. This is how Nairobi gained its name.
The British forcibly removed the Maasai to pave way for White settlers because the land was fertile and a low malaria risk area due to its low temperatures.
What started as a camp steadily grew and by 1905, it had become a commercial centre and the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate for the colonialists. Upon gaining independence in 1963, Kenya made Nairobi its capital.
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Home to Kenya’s first national park
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Nairobi is the only city in the world with a national park. Established in 1946, The Nairobi National Park is located 8 kilometres south of the city centre. Opened in 1946, It is the first National Park to be established in East Africa.
The park boasts of over 100 species of wildlife and more than 400 species of birds. It is home to the white rhino, black rhino, lion, cheetah, giraffe, buffalo, zebra and many more.
The park is particularly significant in terms of wildlife conservation given that it was here that former President Daniel arap Moi set ablaze 11 tonnes of seized ivory in 1989. Almost three decades later President Kenyatta oversaw the burning of seized 105 tons of elephant ivory and 1.35 tons of rhino horn at the same site. These two events marked important landmarks in wildlife conservation in the county and underscored Kenya’s commitment to deal with poaching.
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Home to the world’s second-largest slum
Located 6.6 Kilometers from the city centre, Kibera is the second-largest slum in Africa and the world after Cape Town's Khayelitsha slum.
Nairobi has a population of over 3.1 million people, according to the 2009 census. 60 percent of the population, according to a charity dubbed Kibera UK, live in slums with Kibera housing about 250,000 of these people.
The United Nations estimates that by 2030, one in every four people on the planet will live in a slum or other informal settlement.
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Home to the world’s first hand-carved temple
Completed in 1999, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is the first traditional stone and marble Hindu temple to be constructed on the African continent and the first hand-carved temple in the World.
This magnificent piece of architecture is a fusion of traditional Indian carvings and contemporary art. Barely a year after it was first opened to the public, the temple was awarded the Millennium Award for Excellence in Architecture by the Architectural Association of Kenya.
The temple’s unique make-up has made it one of the top tourists’ destinations in Nairobi, attracting visitors from across Kenya and beyond. It is located along Forest road.
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Home to the Commonwealth war graves
There are 23,000 Commonwealth war graves in more than 150 countries and territories around the world. The Nairobi war cemetery is one of them.
The war graves were established as part of a wider initiative to honour 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars.
The Nairobi war cemetery is located along Ngong road, 10 Km west of the city centre. It was put up in Nairobi, perhaps because the city was the headquarters of the East African Force.
The cemetery contains headstones of 1,941 identified casualties of the Second World War. These permanent headstones are pretty much the same with no distinction made on the basis of military rank, race or creed. It is open to visitors every day between 6 am and 6 pm.
