The Aberdare Range (formerly the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: Nyandarua) is a long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It straddles the counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Murang'a, Kiambu and Laikipia. The mountain range is in west central Kenya, northeast of Naivasha and Gilgil and lies just south of the Equator. The mountain range is called Nyandarua among the Agikuyu people in whose territory this forest and mountain range is located. The name Nyandarua comes from the Kikuyu word rwandarua meaning a drying hide, due to the distinctive fold of its silhouette.

Topography

The Aberdare Range forms a section of the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley running roughly north to south. and is heavily forested.

The former name of the range survives in Mount Satima ("the mountain of the young bull"), the highest peak in the Aberdare Range.

The second-highest peak, at the southern end of the range, is Mount Kinangop at .

Mount Kenya at

Ecology

The main ecosystems within the mountain range are rainforests giving way to dense bamboo forests and then moorland.

The steep western edges of the hillside are sparsely inhabited by wildlife compared to the forested gentle slopes to the east, which are home to a wide variety of wildlife. There are multitudes of elephants, buffalos, giant forest hogs, hyenas as well as the endangered black rhinos and bongos. A variety of cats including leopards, servals, civet, genet and the rare African golden cat. Other threatened species including the Jackson mongoose, the black and white colobus monkey and Sykes' monkey are plentiful, as are waterbuck, reedbuck, duikers, and bushbuck. Aberdare was also a Liberal politician who had served as Home Secretary from 1868 to 1873. He was later to become the first chancellor of the University of Wales.

The area is well known as the headquarters of Dedan Kimathi, leader of the 1950s Mau Mau Uprising. Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom while staying at Treetops Hotel in the Aberdares.

It was also the site where J.A. Hunter killed the rogue elephant of Aberdare Forest.

Footnotes

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  • The Aberdare Mountain Ranges (Nyandarua Range)