Visiting the Maasai Mara in Kenya is to immerse yourself in the true spirit and soul of an ‘African Safari,’ nostalgic of a bygone period of competent guiding, excitement, and magnificence. The Mara is a perennial environment with infinitely magnificent landscapes, limitless game creatures, and vibrant wildlife.
It is still home to the Maasai and smaller tribes of Ndorobo, East Africa’s indigenous hunter-gatherers. The opportunity for fabulous moments to emerge and experiences to be made is renewed with each new daybreak over the green savannah and wooded highlands, since each day is so frequently strikingly different from the last. During your safari in the Maasai Mara, you will explore, adventure, encounter, discover, indulge, and be inspired by the enchantment of this magnificent piece of nature.
No where in the world is there a movement of animals as immense as the wildebeest migration, over 2,000,000 animals migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener pastures of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya during July through to October. The migration has to cross the Mara River in the Maasai Mara where crocodiles will prey on them. This is one of the highlights as the animals try to cross the Mara River alive.
In the Maasai Mara they will be hunted, stalked, and run down by the larger carnivores. The Maasai Mara also has one of the largest densities of lion in the world and is no wonder this is the home of the BBC wildlife channels Big Cat Diary.
Why Should I Make a Plan to Visit Mara?
The Mara has a variety of hospitality options, from tented campsites to upscale resorts. Parts are within the national park’s boundaries, while some are on protected areas that border it. Night excursions, wildlife hikes, off-road motoring, and the ability to dine out in the bush are all available on private conservancies, which add to the allure of pursuits not permitted within the park itself. Because the reserves are not guarded, game may easily travel between them and the protected areas, forming one large wildlife habitat.
Wildebeest arrive at the Mara River in their tens of thousands, and gather waiting to cross. For days their numbers can be building up and anticipation grows but many times, for no apparent reason, they turn and wander away from the water’s edge. Eventually the wildebeest will choose a crossing point, something that can vary from year to year and cannot be predicted with any accuracy. Usually the chosen point will be a fairly placid stretch of water without too much predator-concealing vegetation in the far side, although occasionally they will choose seemingly suicidal places and drown in their hundreds. Perhaps, once again, this is because crossing places are genetically imprinted in the minds of the animals.