The Masai Mara wildebeest Migration safari season is on as wildebeests continue with the River crossings into Masai Mara. This annual mass migration happens between Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve.
It involves over a million wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles searching for fresh pastures. These migrating herds are guided by seasons and form one of the largest savanna wildlife migrations on the planet.
Below is what you need to know about this prominent Masai Mara wildebeest Migration safari season.
About Masai Mara
Masai Mara National Reserve is located in southern Kenya. It covers a land area of 1,510 square kilometers stretching to the Kenya Tanzania Border. Masai Mara is an extension of an open savanna ecosystem from Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. This ecosystem is home to the savanna’s most sought-after wildlife species including large mammals and birds.
Notable safari animals in Masai Mara include elephants, giraffes, elands, zebras, and the topi. It is also home to the Big Cats including lions, leopards, and cheetahs. Masai Mara has the highest lion population thriving on the abundance of prey.
The reserve is rich in bird life with over 500 species. Some are endemic to the Masai Mara and Serengeti ecosystem like the Usambiro barbet. Kori bustards, Secretary birds, Rufous-bellied herons, African finfoot, and Bateleur are among the commonly seen birds in the reserve.
The Wildebeest Migration Season
The wildebeest migration safari season gives Masai Mara a great boost in wildlife numbers. It starts in Tanzania with the calving period where over 5,000 calves are born daily. During this time of the year, the migrating herds would have moved to southern Serengeti via the Ngorongoro Crater rim and Ndutu Conservancy.
They slowly drift to central Serengeti battling the land’s deadliest predators that take advantage of the newborns. Serengeti has the highest lion concentrations in Tanzania with prides of up to 15 lions. These hunt wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles for their survival. Live-action predator hunting is common in the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystems.
Herds that survive the predators in Southern and central Serengeti continue their quest until they meet another obstacle. This is of the Nile Crocodiles in the Mara River that borders Masai Mara and Serengeti. Mara River banks are steep and some wildebeests fall off landing in the jaws of the awaiting predator crocodiles. The Mara River crossings happen from July to September depending on the speed of the migrating herds.
Many of these make it into the Masai Mara where they stay until November. They then start crossing back to Tanzania and the migration cycle begins again. The Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration Safari Season is tough on the wildebeest as they fight for survival from the awaiting predators.
Best time to Visit
The Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration Safari Season is from July to September making it the best time to visit. July marks the start of the Mara River crossings and is ideal for those particularly interested in that. As time passes the migrating herds scatter throughout Masai Mara and are seen on game drives.
The dry season in Masai Mara starts from June to September. There are minimal rainfall disturbances and game drives and overall nature viewing is great. Wildlife spotting and photography are easy thanks to the wildlife numbers.
The Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration Safari Season doubles as the peak tourist season. Safari Lodges and camps get fully booked as many seek to be part of the wildebeest migration Discovery Journeys. Game drive trails are jam-packed with safari vehicles turning off travelers who prefer exclusive experiences. You can only have exclusive Kenya safari adventures in Masai Mara during the off-season months. This is from March to May and October to early December.
The off-season months are wet with more chances of rainfall. Game drive trails become impassable making it hard to access certain areas. Rains, however, favor the growth of lush vegetation creating impressive scenic views. This also provides pasture to the grazers including wildebeests and zebras. They stay near the game drive trails and are easily spotted. Predators like leopards hide in these grasses and easily take down their unsuspecting prey.
Where To Stay
Masai Mara has several accommodation facilities including tented camps and classic safari lodges. These differ in budget and cater to all tourists. Masai Mara safari lodges are strategically located in the way of the migration. This makes it easy to catch up with the migrating herds and execute safari adventures in the reserve.
Mahali Mzuri, Lyok Mara Camp, Mara Serena Safari Lodge, Governors’ Camps, and Angama Mara are notable safari lodges you can consider. These however get fully booked during the peak season and it is recommended to book in advance.
Other Kenya Unique Experiences
Kenya is the birthplace of safari. It has other Signature experiences beyond the Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration Safari. Amboseli National Park safari adventures offer up-close encounters with elephants. The park is home to several other wildlife species including lions, hippos, giraffes, and hyenas.
Amboseli is located in southern Kenya near the border with Tanzania. It is the best place to see Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. It has a vibrant bird life and is among the best Kenya safari destinations to see flamingos. Lake Nakuru was the best place to see flamingos but they migrated because of the rise in the Lake’s water level.
Lake Nakuru National Park still has flamingos and water birds including great white pelicans. It is the only Kenya national park with the Rothschild Giraffes. Other notable wildlife species in Lake Nakuru National Park include Rhinos, zebras, buffaloes, and hippos.
We have curated several Kenya safari itineraries to feature the wildebeest migration and other safari experiences. The 3-day Masai Mara safari is exclusive to the reserve for Big Cats and the great migration. Our 6-day Kenya safari features Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, and Masai Mara. The 10-day Kenya safari is the ultimate Discovery Journeys adventure with a visit to Samburu National Reserve.
English
Afrikaans
Albanian
Amharic
Arabic
Armenian
Azerbaijani
Basque
Belarusian
Bengali
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Catalan
Cebuano
Chichewa
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Corsican
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Esperanto
Estonian
Filipino
Finnish
French
Frisian
Galician
Georgian
German
Greek
Gujarati
Haitian Creole
Hausa
Hawaiian
Hebrew
Hindi
Hmong
Hungarian
Icelandic
Igbo
Indonesian
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Javanese
Kannada
Kazakh
Khmer
Korean
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz
Lao
Latin
Latvian
Lithuanian
Luxembourgish
Macedonian
Malagasy
Malay
Malayalam
Maltese
Maori
Marathi
Mongolian
Myanmar (Burmese)
Nepali
Norwegian
Pashto
Persian
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Russian
Samoan
Scottish Gaelic
Serbian
Sesotho
Shona
Sindhi
Sinhala
Slovak
Slovenian
Somali
Spanish
Sudanese
Swahili
Swedish
Tajik
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Urdu
Uzbek
Vietnamese
Welsh
Xhosa
Yiddish
Yoruba
Zulu