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Kibera
Neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya

Kibera

Kibera is a division and neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) from the city centre.

Plan a trip to Kibera→From Eldoret

Kibera is the largest and most studied slum in Nairobi, and also the largest urban slum in all of Africa. The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera's population as 170,070, contrary to previous estimates of one or two million people. Other sources suggest the total Kibera population may be 500,000 to well over 1,000,000 depending on which slums are included in defining Kibera.

How locals move

Getting around Kibera the local way

  • Get inMatatus (11- to 18-seater minibuses) and shuttles (6-seater cars) are convenient, inexpensive (and often the only) modes of public transport for connecting Nairobi with towns and tourist destinations in the Rift Valley and Central Highlands such as Naivasha, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Isiolo, and Thika.
  • Get inMatatus can be obtained from the River Road area.
  • Get inExtreme caution should be exercised in this area because petty theft is a major concern; avoid showing valuables such as mobile phones, even while in the matatu (see safety section below).
  • Get inThe best method of connecting to a matatu is to arrange for a taxi to drop you off and pick you up directly at the location of the matatu that you are boarding or alighting from.
  • Get inIf you're boarding a matatu from Nairobi, tell the taxi driver your destination and they will drop you off at the correct location.
  • Get inIf you are being picked up, then tell the taxi driver the location you're coming from as well as the matatu company that you are using (your ticket should have the operator's name).
  • Get aroundThe driver and fuel are charged separately with some companies requiring that you hire a driver if you are taking a large 4X4/4WD (e.g.
  • Get aroundHere are some reliable car hire companies in Kenya: Nairobi Car Hire offer good services for 4x4 and other categories of cars.

From Wikivoyage: Nairobi, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.