The Maasai Mara

Why visit Kenya's Maasai Mara?

The Maasai Mara in Kenya has year-round wildlife action and a range of lodges to suit all tastes.

The Great Wildebeest Migration versus the Secret Season

Visitors are drawn to the drama of Mara River crossings during the famous Great Wildebeest Migration months of August to October, but wildlife action on the Big 5 Mara plains continues throughout the year. Locals in the know prefer the quieter 'secret season' when the big herds (and most tourists) have left, and the resident big cats made famous by BBC's Big Cat Diary again rule their kingdom.

The rolling Mara landscape

The Maasai Mara ecosystem is one of Africa's most famous landscapes and attracts visitors from near and far. The breathtaking view of the sunrise from the Oloololo (Siria) Escarpment, some 300m above the plains below, was forever etched into human memory by the film Out of Africa.

The combined area under conservation in the Maasai Mara ecosystem in Narok County amounts to almost 3,000km² (300,000 hectares), which is split evenly between the Maasai Mara National Reserve (150,000 hectares) and various community-owned conservancies that share unfenced boundaries.

The Maasai Mara, also known as Masai Mara, hosts luxury safari camps and lodges that cater for every taste.

Big cats and other wildlife

The Maasai Mara is best known for its large lion prides, cheetah coalitions and confident leopards. That said, large clans of hyenas regularly pull rank at kills, wild dogs patrol far and wide, and serval are often seen hunting in long grass. Buffaloes, elephants and black rhinos make up the rest of the Big Five, while vast herds of wildebeest and zebra dominate the horizon during the Great Migration months. Other species to look out for include Masai giraffe, Grant's and Thompson's gazelles, topi, Coke's hartebeest, crocodiles and hippos.

Spectacular bird watching

Over 500 bird species have been recorded in the Maasai Mara, including Ross's and Schalow’s turacos, narina trogon, Egyptian and Rüppell’s vultures, pallid harrier, grey-crested helmetshrike, Jackson’s widowbird and Sharpe’s longclaw.

READ MORE about the Maasai Mara

READ MORE about the Great Wildebeest Migration

Why the Maasai Mara is a responsible safari choice

Your Africa Geographic safari to the Maasai Mara contributes to the conservation of the park to the benefit of local people because:

• We donate a portion of every safari sold to selected conservation efforts at ground level.

• Your safari supports our conservation publishing efforts, which educate the world about the Maasai Mara and other threatened ecosystems.

• Our chosen lodges support local community initiatives, ensuring that tourism benefits the nearby villages directly. They also adhere to strict environmental practices, such as limited vehicle numbers and sustainable camp operations, which help protect the ecosystem.