Thika is an industrial town in Central Province, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 40 km north east of Nairobi, near the confluence of Thika River & Chania River. Thika has a population of 200,000 and is growing rapidly, as is the entire greater Nairobi area. The elevation of Thika is approximately 1631 meters in altitude.
Thika is home to the Chania Falls,14 falls on river Athi and the Thika Falls, while Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park lies to its south east. The town has a railway station, but currently there is only limited passenger service with only cargo trains operating although there are plans to extend the proposed light rail system to Thika in the future. The town is currently the headquarters of Thika West district following the split of the larger Thika district (created in 1994) into five districts; Thika East and Thika West, Ruiru, Gatundu, Gatanga. It is also the seat of the South Central regional commissioner (deputy Provincial Commissioner) for Central Province appointed by president Mwai Kibaki in 2009 who is in-charge of the larger Kiambu, Thika and Murang'a districts. However, under Kenya's new constitution which has recognizes only the 47 districts in existence before 1992 as semi autonomous counties, Thika falls under Kiambu County. Although, Kiambu Town is expected to be the new county headquarters, Thika should remain as the main commercial centre.
The town is famous as the prime pineapple-growing region in Kenya, the Chania and Thika falls near the confluence of the respective rivers and as a gateway to the "Fourteen Falls" near Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park which is used as a popular picnic and corporate recreational site. Thika is also known as a centre for light industry especially in food & horticulture processing. However, the decline of the textile industry has hit local firms such as Kenya Textile Mills (KTM), which was a cotton to fabric manufacturer that competed against Egyptian & Chinese manufacturers
