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As the sun rises each morning in equatorial East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, is already bustling with traffic, streams of pedestrians and people pushing carts. In Nairobi's markets, the floors are washed and fresh produce is artfully arranged, tea sellers unlock their stalls and light their fires, and merchants raise the iron screens from their store windows. Flowers are everywhere, and it is particularly attractive on some of the city's main avenues and in Uhuru Park around December when the jacaranda trees are in bloom.

It is said that Nairobi is one of the only capital cities on the planet with a national park within its city limits. Those who travel on regional and safari flights from Wilson Airport get an up-close look at just how close the urban area is to this park.

Travelers will find that Nairobi is more cosmopolitan and less stressful than many capital cities in Africa. The city center has a lively and modern Central Business District (CBD), some fine colonial buildings, and spacious squares and leafy well-tended parks that are popular with office workers at lunchtime. The attractive and peaceful suburbs to the west, which peter out to the picturesque Ngong Hills overlooking the Rift Valley, are where most of the sights and better accommodations are located.

Still, be prepared for frustration and inconvenience. Nairobi is a place of contrasts, combining high-rise office blocks and upscale shopping malls with frantic matatu and bus stands, heaving markets, and the slums and townships that ring the city. Traffic jams are a frustrating and grueling way to waste time; they are all too common.

Most travelers to Kenya spend a couple of nights in Nairobi before or after a safari. This is time enough to do some curio shopping or perhaps visit some museums or other tourist attractions.

Lying on the outskirts of the city, Nairobi National Park is one of the easiest to visit in the country. Combined with visits to the Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk at the entrance, a half-day visit is a good introduction to the wildlife you are likely to encounter on a longer safari in the rest of the country. Nairobi also boasts the best restaurants and nightlife in Kenya; the most famous is Carnivore, which is on most travelers' itineraries.

Must See or Do

Sights—Rhinos, hippos, lions and giraffes at Nairobi National Park; baby elephants and rhinos at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust; a quiet moment of reflection at the August 7th Memorial Park.

Museums—Leakey family discoveries at the Nairobi National Museum, as well as Kenyan artifacts and art; nostalgic displays and locomotives at the Nairobi Railway Museum; the restored coffee estate and home of author Karen Blixen; political and tribal art at the National Archives.

Memorable Meals—Nyama choma at Carnivore; seafood at Tamarind; spicy Indian cuisine at Haandi; flavorful Eritrean food at The Smart Village.

Late Night—African music, jazz or soul at Simba Saloon at the Carnivore; smooth cocktails at Casablanca.

Especially for Kids—The snake park at the Nairobi National Museum; feeding a giraffe at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre; petting a cheetah at the Nairobi Safari Walk and Animal Orphanage; ice skating at Panari Hotel.

Geography

In one of the most diverse and beautiful countries in Africa, Nairobi sits just 90 mi/145 km south of the equator, at approximately 5,500 ft/1,700 m above sea level. The city center is densely packed, a roughly rectangular area 12 blocks long and six blocks wide. Boundaries are University Way on the north end, Haile Selassie Avenue on the south, Uhuru Highway to the west and Moi Avenue to the east.

Upscale, fast-growing Westlands, a neighborhood northwest of the city center, is teeming with hotels, shopping malls and restaurants. Karen and Langata in the south and Gigiri in the north are well-kept areas with enough shops and attractions to make them noteworthy. Ngong Road to the south of the city has also followed this trend; shopping and other recreational activities are thriving there. To the east is a vast industrial area that stretches almost to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Nairobi's traffic is at times severely congested and the pollution palpable, but it is fairly easy to get oriented.

History

The Maasai called the swampy plain along the river enkare nyarobi (the place of cool waters), as it was originally a watering place for the tribe and their cattle. It wasn't until the Mombasa-Uganda railway arrived in May 1899 that modern-day Nairobi was born. By 1907, it became large enough to take over from Mombasa as the capital of the British colony. The climate was considered by the British officials to be better than at the coast.

By the 1920s, the city had prospered as European immigrants farmed the surrounding lands. Nairobi also became home to communities of Indians, Arabs and Somalis, who came to trade. By the time of its independence from British rule in 1963, Nairobi was a glorious city, noted for well-kept streets, stunning gardens and a cosmopolitan population.

After independence, rapid urbanization followed, turning the city into one of Africa's largest commercial centers. Since the early 1980s, the city has been dealing with an increasing population, rising unemployment and student- and civil-society-led demonstrations, which were especially frequent in the 1990s. Keeping up the maintenance of basic infrastructures has also been a struggle.

However, after the election of the country's third president, Mwai Kibaki, in December 2002, things appeared to steadily improve. In December 2005, Kenyans voted for sweeping constitutional changes in a first-ever national referendum.

When few changes were brought into effect, discontent mounted in the build-up to the 2007 general elections. Hailed as the most open and closely contested election in Kenya's history, more than 70% of the country's 14.3 million registered voters turned out to cast their votes. As the votes were counted, however, accusations of electoral fraud quickly surfaced as President Kibaki came from behind to defeat opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Orange Democratic Movement, by a slim margin.

Initial protests escalated into unprecedented violence and destruction, leading to more than 1,000 deaths and the internal displacement of more than 350,000 people. While Nairobi was at the center of the violence, parts of Mombasa as well as towns in the Rift Valley, including Naivasha and Nakuru, were also affected. Following lengthy peace talks chaired by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, a power sharing agreement was eventually signed between Kibaki and Odinga on 28 February 2008.

In 2010, Kenyans again voted for changes to the constitution in a referendum, which also saw a high voter turnout of more than 70%, and the process passed peacefully. To avoid a repeat of the confusing 2007 election, under the new terms, a presidential candidate must get a 50% plus one vote majority in the National Assembly, and at least 25% of the vote in the constituencies.

Kenyan elections continue to be a source of mayhem, and in the 2017 election, the vote was close enough that the results were not accepted. They were contested in the Supreme Court, and a new election was scheduled. Before that could take place, one candidate withdrew, leaving Uhuru Kenyatta as president.

Potpourri

Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is unique in that it borders the Nairobi National Park. Thus, at certain times of year, you can look out while your plane taxis into Nairobi and see giraffes and impala grazing. Animals are even more visible from Wilson Airport closer to the city.

Nairobi's famous Norfolk Hotel opened on Christmas Day 1904, and is older than both the Savoy and the Ritz hotels in London. It became a focal meeting place for Kenya's early colonial settlers and adventurers.

Kibera in Nairobi is one of the largest slums in sub-Saharan Africa and is home to an estimated 1 million people. Tour operators run informative half-day walking tours of Kibera and allow visitors to meet the residents; they may also visit an orphanage, school or market.

Diamond Plaza, near Westlands, is Kenya's "little Bombay," resplendent with an Indian shopping mall and all sorts of Indian restaurants.

"I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills …" is the opening line of Out of Africa, the memoirs of Karen Blixen (also known as Isak Dinesen) published in 1937. The movie was filmed in and around Nairobi in 1985. It stars Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, and it won seven Oscars.

In 1989, 12 tons of confiscated ivory were burned in Nairobi National Park. The fire was lit by then-President Moi and the event was a symbolic gesture to protest against the mass slaughter of elephants by poachers in Kenya. The mound of ash can still be seen in the park today.

Public minibuses, known as matatus, are one of Nairobi's public forms of transportation. With their custom paint jobs, decorated interiors and loud sound systems, matatus are Kenyan cultural icons.