Kenya National Archives Travel Guide: Top Sights in Kenya, Tours &

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Kenya National Archives- Travel Tips What to See, How to Plan & Tours: Historical & Cultural; Kenya; 5 Reviews

Suggested Duration: 2 hours

The Kenya National Archives, located on Moi Avenue in Nairobi's Central Business District, was established in 1965 in a building that originally housed the Kenya Commercial Bank. It serves as a repository for over 40,000 volumes of historical documents and archives. The building also features the Murumbi Gallery, which displays a significant collection of African artifacts, many from the 19th century. Named after Joseph Murumbi, Kenya's second vice president, the gallery is now the largest Pan-African art collection in Africa. The archives play a key role in preserving the nation's heritage and culture.

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Reviews of Kenya National Archives

Michelle Timian

5
Reviewed: 2025-02-07

I loved my visit here! My 1-hour tour was fantastic, informative and comprehensive. The archive is truly pan-African, with artifacts from all over the continent.
Kit Teguh

5
Reviewed: 2025-02-02

This is smaller but a more impactful place than the National Museum, especially if you get a good guide like Fessy who would take you through most things in the exhibit and tell you plenty of interesting facts about the country. It is also way, way cheaper than going to the National Museum. Yeah look, just avoid the National Museum and go here.
AA

4
Reviewed: 2024-09-11

It is a rather small and simple yet interesting exhibition. I did learn quite a lot about Africa, not just Kenya, as quite a lot of the exhibits were not from Kenya but were from all over Africa. They also introduced some of the history and politics of Kenya. The entrance fee was also cheap. However getting there was quite hectic as it is in an area where there’s a lot of traffic and street stall.
Jessie W

5
Reviewed: 2024-08-08

Highly recommend a visit here, especially if you’re visiting Nairobi for the first time. Very reasonable price and I had a great guide who took me around. I learnt so much about not only the history of Kenya, but also about so many different African countries. Such a great introduction into Kenya!
J. Mbuvi

5
Reviewed: 2022-06-06

I learnt so much here about the history of not only Kenya, but also other African countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and others. Very beautiful and well equipped. For only Ksh.50/= you get to enter Archives and learn history and also photos are allowed. If you haven't visited this place, would definitely recommend that you do especially if you love learning about history.