Maasai Mara National Reserve, covering roughly 1,510 sq km in Narok County, is Kenya’s most celebrated wildlife destination and the northern extension of the wider Mara-Serengeti ecosystem that continues south into Tanzania. Named for the Maasai people who have long inhabited the area, with “Mara” meaning spotted in the Maa language after the landscape’s scattered acacia trees, the reserve is best known worldwide for the Great Migration.
The reserve at a glance
- Roughly 1,510 sq km in Narok County, southwestern Kenya
- Forms the northern section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, contiguous with Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park
- Named after the Maasai people, with “Mara” meaning spotted in the Maa language
- All Big Five species are present: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhinoceros
The Great Migration and Mara River crossings
Between roughly July and October each year, around 1.3 million wildebeest are joined by hundreds of thousands of zebra, gazelle and eland moving north from the Serengeti in search of fresh grazing, creating one of the largest wildlife movements on Earth. The dramatic river crossings that follow, as animals face strong currents, crocodiles and waiting predators at the Mara River, rank among the most watched wildlife spectacles anywhere, drawing visitors from around the world during peak migration months.
A landscape of open plains and conservancies
Beyond the reserve’s core boundaries, the wider Greater Mara ecosystem includes the Mara Triangle and a network of community-run conservancies bordering the reserve, offering additional wildlife-viewing areas with more flexible activities such as night drives and walking safaris. This combination of open savannah, riverine forest along the Mara and Talek rivers, and surrounding conservancy land supports dense, year-round populations of lion, cheetah and elephant even outside migration season.
Things to do
- Game drives for the Big Five across the reserve’s open plains
- Witnessing Great Migration river crossings during peak season
- Visiting neighbouring conservancies for night drives and walking safaris
Practical information
- Reached by road or scheduled flights from Nairobi into Mara airstrips
- July to October is peak season for migration river crossings; wildlife is present year-round
- Best combined with a broader southern Kenya circuit given the reserve’s established infrastructure
Maasai Mara National Reserve delivers East Africa’s signature big-game experience at any time of year. Offmap Safaris can build it into a wider Kenya itinerary. To start planning, visit Plan My African Safari, message us on WhatsApp at +256 701 243 304, or email [email protected]. See also our notes on health and safety and responsible travel.
