Experience the best of Maasai Mara National Reserve
The Maasai Mara is a vast reserve of open grassland in south-west Kenya, famed for its lions, elephants and the great wildebeest migration.
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The Maasai Mara National Reserve covers rolling grassland, scattered acacia and river forest in south-west Kenya, and borders the Serengeti in Tanzania. Its name comes from the Maasai people and from mara, a word in their language for spotted, which describes the dotted look of its trees and bushes. The Mara River runs through it, holding hippos and crocodiles, and the Oloololo escarpment marks its western edge.
Lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and zebra are all resident, and a few black rhinos live in the reserve. From about July to October, huge herds of wildebeest and zebra cross the Mara River from the Serengeti in search of grass. Private conservancies border the reserve, hot-air balloons lift off at dawn, and Maasai villages stand on the surrounding land.
Bush breakfasts are cooked over open fires, and the camps serve nyama choma, grilled meat, with ugali, a stiff maize porridge, and Kenyan tea and coffee. The reserve lies at an altitude of about 1,500 to 2,000 metres, so mornings are cool, and the long rains fall in April and May.
- Free cancellation on 77% of experiences
- 4.6 across the top 6
Top experiences in Maasai Mara National Reserve
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