Maasai Mara
open red-oat grassland, crocodile rivers and kenya's richest big-cat country
About Maasai Mara
The Maasai Mara is the Kenyan end of the Serengeti ecosystem, a sweep of red-oat grass rolling west to the Oloololo Escarpment and cut by the Mara and Talek rivers. The national reserve sits at its heart, ringed by private conservancies leased from Maasai landowners, where vehicle numbers are capped and guides can drive off-road, walk with you and go out after dark.
Lions are the headline, but cheetahs hunt the open plains by daylight and leopards drape themselves along the riverine trees. Hippos grunt in every bend of the river and topi stand sentry on termite mounds. From about July to October the migration pours in from Tanzania, and the herds bunch on the banks of the Mara River before plunging across past waiting crocodiles. Dawn balloon flights drift over it all, and a visit to a Maasai homestead shows you the cattle culture behind the landscape.
It is a short flight from Wilson Airport or a five-to-six-hour drive from Nairobi. July to October brings the crossings and the crowds; January and February are dry and quieter, with resident predators and plenty of plains game. Stop at Lake Naivasha or Lake Nakuru on the way in, cross into the northern Serengeti for more of the herds, or fly on to Rwanda or Uganda for gorillas.
Where it is
Safaris through Maasai Mara
9 days
Featured
9 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Migration Safari
Two countries, two riverbanks, one chance to watch the herds take the plunge
14 days
Featured
14 Days Kenya & Tanzania Big Five Safari
Fourteen days and seven great parks, from Samburu's desert rivers to Tarangire's baobabs
12 days
Featured
12 Days Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Zanzibar Honeymoon
Balloon at dawn, lanterns at dusk, then the warm Indian Ocean: twelve days for two
10 days
Featured
10 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Seniors Safari
Late starts, short flights, three-night stays and a guide who has thought of everything
11 days
Featured
11 Days Kenya & Tanzania Family Safari
Orphaned elephants, bikes in a gorge, junior ranger badges and a crater full of rhino
12 days
Featured
12 Days Kenya & Tanzania Multi-Generation Safari
Grandparents, parents and kids in one private safari, from rhino country to the crater floor
6 days
6 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Fly-in Safari
Six days, four flights, almost no road: the Mara, Serengeti and crater for people short on time
12 days
12 Days Kenya & Tanzania Photography Safari
Private vehicle, specialist guide and every drive timed for the best light
10 days
10 Days Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Zanzibar Solo Safari
Join solo, share the vehicle and the campfire, keep your own room, finish on a Zanzibar beach
9 days
9 Days Maasai Mara & Lake Natron Walking Safari
Track with Maasai guides, sleep out in a fly camp and hike down into Empakaai Crater
4 days
4 Days Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari
Two full days to follow big cats, elephant and the rhythm of the Mara
6 days
6 Days Lake Naivasha & Maasai Mara Family Safari
A family rhythm of lakeside discoveries, shorter drives and Mara wildlife