Hyrax Hill Museum is a pre-historic site 4 km from Nakuru Town and 150 km from Nairobi City. The site lies a walking distance from the Nakuru-Nairobi highway atop Hyrax Hill. Although it was proclaimed a national monument in 1945, it was not until 1965 that it was opened to the public.
The museum was previously home to the late Mrs A. Selfe who ceded the site to the government after a series of archaeological discoveries. The house was put up in the years 1900 – 1910. Currently, it hosts artefacts from the Hyrax Hill site and other sites from Central Rift Valley. The hill takes its name from the numerous hyraxes that live in rock cracks within the area.
The site is popular with hikers and adventurers. It is ideal for nature walks, camping, picnics, photography, and archaeological research and for viewing the quaint Lake Nakuru. The most popular days are weekends and public holidays. From the hill, one also gets a breathtaking view of Nakuru Town.
History has it that thousands of years ago, the hill might have been an Island with Lake Nakuru. Beach sands around the base of the hill are taken as evidence that Lake Nakuru once sprawled there.
Below is a video showing around Hyrax Hill Museum
On a good day, you would expect to see the hyraxes running around. What you can’t miss are the naughty baboons, baboons and tortoises at the tortoise pit. Some of the tortoises are very old.
The Sirikwas who used to live here used to play games like the bao game. On some of the rocks, indentions will be found where they would play the game to pass time. To recreate the game, the management of the museum has set up places where visitors can play the game.
