Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being as part of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The county's administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is the largest town in the county. The county had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019. The county borders Nairobi and Kiambu counties to the west, Embu to the north, Kitui to the east, Makueni to the south, Kajiado to the south west, and Murang'a and Kirinyaga to the north west.
The local climate is semi-arid with hilly terrain and an altitude of 1000 to 2100 meters above sea level. Tourist-related activities include camping, hiking safaris, ecotourism and cultural tourism, dance and music festivals.