Masai Mara

candid safari tips

 

Masai Mara
insights

Kenya's best

The Masai Mara Game Reserve is unquestionably the crown safari jewel.

Serengeti relationship

The Masai Mara is a natural extension of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, with which it shares the famous Serengeti Migration.

Animal crossings

The above two game venues also share a fenceless international border, though the hordes of migrating animals are oblivious to the Kenyan-Tanzanian boundary as they cross it twice a year.

Name

This game reserve was once called the Serengeti. In 1961, it was renamed Masai Mara in honor of the Masais, the indigenous tribal people who still herd their cattle and goats within the game reserve.

When to go

The Masai Mara is at its best during its peak migration period, generally from late July to early October.

Similarities

In many ways the Masai Mara is similar to its southern neighbor, the Serengeti National Park. For example, it has rolling grassland hills with scattered acacias. Forests occasionally interrupt the open landscape. And, all the major safari animal species can be found in it.

Disimilarities

Key exceptions to the similarity are size (the Masai Mara is eight times smaller), safari tourist congestion (it's worse), and peak migration times (see my animated migration map).

Getting there

The Masai Mara is out-of-the-way. It's situated in southwest Kenya along the Tanzania border. It is six hours by car from Nairobi. Some road stretches are rather bumpy, which is why many safari-goers prefer the 45-minute plane ride.

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