Maasai Mara Safari

The Maasai Mara National Reserve covers roughly 1,500 km² of open savannah in southwest Kenya, sharing an unfenced border with Tanzania's Serengeti. It is by far Kenya's most-visited safari destination — and the reason most first-time visitors come to Kenya at all. The Mara holds Africa's highest predator density per square kilometre: lion prides exceeding twenty animals are routine, leopards stalk the riverine forests, and cheetahs hunt across the open plains in broad daylight.

From late July to October, roughly 1.5 million wildebeest accompanied by 200,000 zebras and 350,000 Thomson's gazelles cross into the Mara from the Serengeti — the spectacle known as the Great Migration. The dramatic Mara River crossings, where herds plunge through crocodile-filled water, peak in August and September. Outside migration season the Mara still delivers world-class game viewing year-round, with resident populations of all Big Five species (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino) and excellent birdlife.

The reserve is roughly a 5-hour drive from Nairobi (or a 45-minute light-aircraft flight to Keekorok or Olare-Orok airstrips). Most multi-day Kenya safaris that start in Nairobi feature 2–3 nights in or around the Mara as their centrepiece — paired with Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, or Amboseli to add park diversity.

• Big Five — Mara has resident lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and (re-introduced) black rhino populations.
• Great Migration — wildebeest/zebra herds cross the Mara River in numbers from late July through September.
• Predator concentration — lion prides of 20+, multiple cheetah coalitions, large hyena clans.
• Birdlife — over 470 recorded species including raptors, ostriches and seasonal Eurasian migrants.