Kerugoya

Kerugoya is in Central Kenya in the Southern Rift Valley region.

Kerugoya is a town in Kirinyaga County, Kenya, situated on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. It is the county headquarters and an important agricultural and commercial centre in the Mount Kenya region.

Kerugoya lies in a fertile highland area where reliable rainfall and volcanic soils support intensive agriculture. The surrounding countryside is characterised by small farms, tea plantations, coffee farms, fruit trees and vegetable gardens.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. Tea and coffee are important cash crops, while farmers also produce bananas, vegetables, dairy products and other food crops for local and regional markets.

The town serves as a service and trading centre for surrounding agricultural communities. It has government offices, schools, health facilities, banks, shops and markets.

Kerugoya developed as an administrative and commercial settlement in the Mount Kenya highlands. Its growth was closely connected with the development of agriculture and road networks in the region.

Following Kenya's independence, Kerugoya became increasingly important as an administrative centre. Under the country's devolved system of government, it became the headquarters of Kirinyaga County. The town has continued to expand as agricultural production egional trade have grown.

By road from Nirobi past Thika along the Thika Road. Branch off at Sagana, also known as Makutano bearing east toward the slopes of Mount Kenya.

You will drive through the Plains of Mwea, famous for a major rice irrigation scheme, passing numerous communes inhabited by the Kikuyu, majority of whom practice Subsistence farming. The most common site will be of market centers, which are a hive of activity, as women bring baskets of produce to the market and search out supplies for domestic life at general stores.

Travel using public means would commence in Nairobi city, at the hectic PSV terminus known as Tea-Room, or Nyamakema, in the 'river road' precinct of the city. Ask for the Nissan (PSV Van) stage for Kirinyaga, Embu and Meru. A typical trip will last 1.5 hours, and the roads are pretty good by Kenyan standards

Matatus, tuk-tuks, taxis and boda bodas are commonly used. Walking is convenient around the town centre.

• Kutus — A nearby commercial centre and an important junction in Kirinyaga County.
• Embu — A major city east of Mount Kenya.
• Nyeri — A major town north-west of Kerugoya.
• Nanyuki — A tourism and agricultural centre near Mount Kenya.
• Mount Kenya National Park — A major protected mountain ecosystem and UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Nairobi — Kenya's capital, connected to Kerugoya by road.