Masai Mara at a glance
The Maasai Mara lies in the Great Rift Valley, which is a fault line some 3,500 miles long stretching from Ethiopia’s Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and into Mozambique.
There can be as much wildlife roaming outside the park as inside. Many Maasai villages are located in the ‘dispersal areas’ and they have, over centuries, developed a close and beautiful relationship with the wildlife.
Experiences in Masai Mara
General Information
Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant, and it is for this reason a traveller hardly misses the chance to see the big five (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino). There have been some 95 species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles and over 400 birds species recorded on the reserve and the Masai Mara is regarded as the jewel of Kenya’s wildlife viewing areas. The annual wildebeest’s migration alone involves over 1.5 million animals arriving in July and departing in November and rightfully deserves its standing as one of the natural world’s most astonishing spectacles.
Food and Drink
Destinations in Masai Mara
Travel Facts
Learn more about flights, climate and geography for this destination.
To reach the Masai Mara you will need flight bookings to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya (IATA code – JKIA). Major airlines worldwide have direct flights to and from Kenya on a regular basis.
Once in Kenya you will take a short domestic flight of approximately 1 hour to the Savannah and onwards to your camp.
Please remember that, to travel to Kenya, all visitors need to go through the passport control system. The identity of all travellers to Kenya will be checked both upon arrival and departure. Keep your passport safe and secure during your stay in Kenya. You also need a Visa, which you can get upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport alternatively you can apply for an online visa.
The Mara is known as one of the finest wildlife destinations in the World. There is an excellent chance of seeing the Big 5, cheetah, serval, hyena, bat-eared foxes, black-backed and side-striped jackals, hippo, crocodile, baboons, warthog, topi, eland, Thompson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, impala, waterbuck, oribi, reed-buck, zebra.
- Lion Season – From January to March
- The lion season falls when most big plain game animals like the wildebeest, Zebras are giving birth to their young ones. During this time, you can expect to see lions regularly and often by the pride.
- Green Season – From April to June
- Early spring, usually referred to as the Green Season, is a particularly magnificent period to visit the Mara. These are the months that typically receive the largest amounts of rainfall. The Savannah becomes clear, free of dust and haze making Africa’s stunning landscapes look at their absolute best. This is also the best time for bird watching when migrant birds arrive in their thousands to take up colourful residence on the Savannah.
- Migration Season – July to September
- The Great Wildebeest Migration rightfully deserves its standing as one of the natural world’s most astonishing spectacles. Comprising more than 1.5 million wildebeest, zebras, and antelopes, the Great Migration constitutes the last surviving multi-species migration on the planet.
- Wildlife Season – October to November
- This is a great time to watch the Migration gradually spilling from the Masai Mara back into the north-east Serengeti.
- Festive Season – December
- From December to beginning of January. Rather than being whitened by snow, the Maasai Mara plains are covered with rich wildlife species. More than any other time of the year, Christmas is a time for celebration, for reflection, for family, and for friendship.
There are four main types of terrain in the Mara – the Ngama Hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes favoured by black rhino; Oloololo Escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a magnificent plateau; Mara Triangle bordering the Mara River with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game, especially migrating wildebeest; and the Central Plains, forming the largest part of the reserve with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.
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