Maasai Mara National Reserve

Maasai Mara National Reserve is an area of savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya, in the Great Rift Valley, along the Tanzanian border. It’s one of the most popular wildlife destinations in Africa, if not the world. The epic landscape has grassy plains and rolling hills.  It’s traversed by the Mara and Talek rivers. Wildlife tends to be most concentrated on the reserve’s western escarpment.

Famous for the annual wildebeest migration, the Maasai Mara is regarded as one of Kenya’s best game viewing locations. The migration alone, involves over 2 million animals arriving in July and departing in November.

You can also expect to see lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras and hippos. And a whole lot more. There have been some 95 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and over 400 species of birds recorded in the Mara.  It’s wild alright!

The Mara Triangle

In the western section of the Masai Mara, wedged between the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, the Mara River and the Oloololo Escarpment, you’ll find the Mara Triangle. It’s managed by a non-profit, conservancy company formed by local Maasai communities. Their aims are simple yet profoundly important. To reduce poaching, improve infrastructure and run community projects that strengthen conservation and provide local people with a viable income.

Journey here and you’ll have an excellent chance of seeing the big five. And cheetah, serval, hyena, bat-eared foxes, black-backed and side-striped jackals, hippo, crocodile, baboons, warthog, topi, eland, Thompson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, impala, waterbuck, oribi, reed-buck and zebra.

Climatic conditions

• Altitude, 1,600 metres or 5,300 feet
• Rainy season from November through May
• Peak rainfall in December-January and April-May
• Dry season from June-November
• Sunny mornings often with cloud build-up in the afternoon
• During the rains this develops into thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening
• Max temperatures up to 30°C and min temperatures around 20°C

 Access

• The Mara Triangle is serviced by two all-weather airstrips

– Mara Serena

– Kichwa Tembo

• The main road access into the Triangle is through the Narok and Sekenani Gate

Best time to visit

• Peak season is between July and October, during the migration
• Early November and February are also excellent for game viewing

Activities

• Game viewing
• Maasai cultural villages
• Camping
• Night game drives
• Ballooning
• Bush breakfast, lunch and dinner