Thomson’s Falls: A Stunning Waterfall at Nyahururu, Kenya

Thomson’s Falls or Nyahururu Falls is a stunning waterfall that is located close to the equator near Nyahururu in Kenya. I saw this waterfall enroute from Samburu to Lake Nakuru. The Thomson’s falls plunges about 74m (243 feet) on the Ewaso Narok river, a tributary of the Ewaso Nyiro river on the far northern end of the Aberdare Mountain Range.


One of the biggest hippo pools of Kenya is located up stream from the falls. The Thomson’s falls gets its name from Joseph Thomson, a naturalist and geologist from Scotland who discovered it in 1887 when he walked all the way from Mombasa to Lake Victoria.


The Thomson’s Falls is a very important landmark for the Nyahururu town as most of its revenue comes from the tourism industry associated with this waterfall. A whole bunch of curio shops make their livelihood from the stuff they sell to tourists coming here.


As a tourist, one can get different views of this single plunge waterfall. There is a tourist trail that leads to the bottom of the ravine and thus to the bottom of the waterfall. There are multiple view points along this trail that provide stunning views of the waterfall.