The Masai Mara is spectacular year-round, but certain months offer extraordinary conditions for wildlife viewing that safari-goers the world over travel specifically to experience.
The Great Migration (July – October)
Between July and October, over 1.5 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra and 200,000 Thomson’s gazelle pour north from Tanzania’s Serengeti into the Masai Mara in search of fresh grass. The highlight is the dramatic Mara River crossings — massive columns of animals plunging into crocodile-infested waters in one of nature’s most thrilling spectacles.
Calving Season (January – February)
The dry savannah of the southern Serengeti and northern Tanzania becomes a calving nursery from late January to February. While technically outside the Mara, the predator activity at this time is exceptional in Kenya’s southern parks.
Year-Round Highlights
The Mara’s resident population includes over 95 species of mammals. Resident lion prides, leopards draped on fig trees, cheetah mothers teaching cubs to hunt — the Mara delivers extraordinary sightings every single month of the year.