Kenya Safari tour enjoying the great wildebeest migration at Maasai Mara
A Kenya safari tour to Maasai Mara National Reserve which is Kenya’s most celebrated game park offering the possibility of seeing “the big five” and many other species of game. This is where the great wildebeest migration is a spectacle to behold for any would be the visitor to Kenya mainly in July and August of each year.
Maasai Mara
The Maasai Mara (aka Masai Mara) is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai people (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and the Mara River which divides it, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every July and August, a migration so immense it is called the Great Migration.
Geography
With an area of 1510 km2, the Maasai Mara is not the largest game park in Kenya, but it is probably the most famous. The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the southeast region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 km from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.
Maasai Mara Wildlife
The Masai Mara is perhaps most famous for its lions. All other members of the “Big Five” are to be found in the Masai Mara, although the population of black rhinoceros is severely threatened, with a population of only 37 recorded in 2000. Hippopotami are found in large groups in the Masai Mara and Talek Rivers. Cheetah is also to be found, although their numbers are also threatened, chiefly due to tourist disruption of their daytime hunting.
Like in the Serengeti, the wildebeest are the dominant inhabitant of the Maasai Mara, and their numbers are estimated in the millions. Around July of each year, these ungainly animals migrate in a vast ensemble north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture and return to the south around October. The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving an immensity of herbivores: some 1,300,000 Wildebeest, 360,000 Thomson’s Gazelle, and 191,000 Zebra. These numerous migrants are followed along their annual, circular route by a block of hungry predators, most notably lions and hyena.
Numerous other antelope can be found, including Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, impala, topi and Coke’s hartebeest. Large herds of zebra are found through the reserve. The plains are also home to the distinctive Masai giraffe as well as the common giraffe. The large Roan antelope and the nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely present elsewhere in Kenya, can be seen within the reserve borders. The Maasai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. Additionally, over 450 species of birdlife have been identified in the park, including vulture, marabou, secretary bird, hornbill, crowned crane, ostrich, long-crested eagle, and pygmy falcon.
3 Days Maasai Mara Lodge Safaris
Daily departure at 7.30am
Day 1: Nairobi to Maasai Mara Game Reserve
A distance of around 285 kms (5 hrs) from the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi. We pick you up from your hotel at 7.30am and drive into the Maasai Mara with its amazing concentration of wildlife and outstanding scenery. You will get lunch and an afternoon game drive, overnight will be at Mara Sopa Lodge.
Day 2: Maasai Mara Game drives
On the 2nd day, you will have morning and afternoon game drives in the finest game sanctuary in Kenya, noted for its lions and other wildlife and an overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge.
Optional activities:
Hot air balloon Safari
Visit a local Maasai village:
Day 3: Maasai Mara to Nairobi city
After breakfast at the Maasai mara, you’ll be driven back to Nairobi where the tour ends at approximately 2pm.
Learn more about Maasai Mara tour.