Maasai Mara
Kenya
Kenya's most celebrated wildlife reserve, famous for the Great Wildebeest Migration and year-round Big Five game viewing across its rolling savannah plains.
<p>The Maasai Mara National Reserve is Kenya's most iconic wildlife destination, a sweeping 1,510-square-kilometre savannah in the southwest of the country that forms the northern tip of the greater Serengeti ecosystem. Shared with Tanzania's Serengeti, the Mara's open plains, acacia woodlands, and the meandering Mara River create one of Africa's most dramatic landscapes, home to an extraordinary concentration of wildlife year-round.</p>
<p>The reserve reaches its peak fame between July and October when the Great Migration arrives -- approximately 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, and 350,000 Thomson's gazelle pour across the Mara River in one of nature's most thrilling spectacles. Huge crocodiles lurk in the shallows, waiting as the herds plunge across in chaotic, thundering masses. Even outside migration season, the Mara's resident wildlife is staggering: lion prides lounge on kopjes, leopards drape themselves over acacia branches, cheetahs sprint across the open plains, and enormous elephant families move silently through the bush.</p>
<p>Accommodation options range from ultra-luxury lodges perched above the Mara River to intimate tented camps embedded in private conservancies bordering the reserve. The conservancies -- including Olare Motorogi, Mara North, and Naboisho -- offer exclusive wildlife experiences with fewer vehicles and walking safaris. A hot-air balloon safari at dawn, drifting silently above the plains as the sun rises, is an experience that stays with visitors forever. Complete your Mara experience with a visit to a Maasai village to learn about the culture and traditions of the people who share this remarkable landscape.</p>
<p>The reserve reaches its peak fame between July and October when the Great Migration arrives -- approximately 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, and 350,000 Thomson's gazelle pour across the Mara River in one of nature's most thrilling spectacles. Huge crocodiles lurk in the shallows, waiting as the herds plunge across in chaotic, thundering masses. Even outside migration season, the Mara's resident wildlife is staggering: lion prides lounge on kopjes, leopards drape themselves over acacia branches, cheetahs sprint across the open plains, and enormous elephant families move silently through the bush.</p>
<p>Accommodation options range from ultra-luxury lodges perched above the Mara River to intimate tented camps embedded in private conservancies bordering the reserve. The conservancies -- including Olare Motorogi, Mara North, and Naboisho -- offer exclusive wildlife experiences with fewer vehicles and walking safaris. A hot-air balloon safari at dawn, drifting silently above the plains as the sun rises, is an experience that stays with visitors forever. Complete your Mara experience with a visit to a Maasai village to learn about the culture and traditions of the people who share this remarkable landscape.</p>
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