So-named by British Colonial soldiers, locally known as johnnies, who could only see banana plantations as they looked downhill towards the capital city, Nairobi, whenever they drove their military trucks over the hills en route to Limuru.
World renown as a locale where multiple contemporary artists, The Banana Hill Artists, display and sell their work at the famed Banana Hill Art Studio.
Whereas the area is very fertile, a growing Nairobi middle class seeking affordable housing within close proximity to the city has motivated land owners to replace agriculture with housing.