Masai Mara National Reserve

Pros & Cons

• Excellent wildlife viewing throughout the year
• Annual wildebeest migration (from July or August to October)
• Open savannah makes for easy wildlife spotting
• Wide variety of accommodations for different budgets
• Hot-air balloon safaris
• The park gets busy, especially during high season
• The access road is bad, so a fly-in safari is recommended
• Roads can be in terrible condition, especially after rain

The Wildebeest Migration

The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is where 2.5 million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles follow the rains in search of new grass every year. They make their way from Serengeti National Park (in northern Tanzania) to the Masai Mara, and they usually cross into Kenya in July or August. Although the timing is never guaranteed, August and September are when you’re most likely to see the herds undertaking the famous crossings of the Mara River in Kenya. They slowly head back into the Serengeti around October.

Wildlife

The Masai Mara is one of the best parks in Africa for seeing big cats, especially lions. Even leopards are quite used to vehicles and you can see their natural behavior, while cheetahs inhabit the open savannah, hunting or seeking their next meal. Of the other Big Five, elephant and buffalo are also plentiful, but black rhino is trickier and they only roam in the Mara Triangle area.

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Scenery

Grassland savannah dominates the landscape in the Masai Mara, but there are pockets of acacia woodland and riparian forest around the Mara River, and rocky hills intersperse the plains. The Maasai word ‘Mara’, meaning spotted, refers to these dots in the landscape. In the north, the Oloololo Escarpment (also called the Siria Escarpment) marks the northern boundary of the Mara. The stunning views from the top take in the whole ecosystem.

Activities

The main activity on organized safaris is guided game drives. East of the Mara River, dozens of vehicles frequently gather around big cat sightings. Crowding is less common in the Mara Triangle and forbidden in most conservancies. Early morning hot-air balloon rides are justifiably very popular. Night drives and walking safaris are forbidden within the national reserve, but they are usually offered in the conservancies. Self-guided game drives are permitted in the Mara Triangle but not in the conservancies. In June 2024, the reserve authorities placed a ban on self-drive activities east of the Mara River; at the time of writing this is not being enforced, but that might change.

Weather & Climate

The Masai Mara has a generally mild climate that doesn’t vary too much from a comfortable 26°C/79°F in the region’s Dry season (June to October). Differences in temperature are mainly due to changes in altitude in the park, with conditions getting cooler the higher you climb. The Wet season (November to May) comprises a shorter and a longer rainy period that are broken up by a brief dry spell.

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Best Time To Visit

The Dry season (June to October) is the best time to visit the Masai Mara. The roads haven’t yet deteriorated because of rain, and thirsty animals crowd around the local waterways. The second half of the Dry season is often when the incredible annual wildebeest migration passes through. January and February, the interlude between the short and long rains of the Wet season, is also a good time to visit.

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