Adjoining the vast stretches of the Serengeti National Park, the Masai Mara Reserve is one of Kenya’s most famous natural areas. With a fantastic concentration of wildlife, visitors can easily spot an abundance of giraffes, wildebeest and zebras amongst many others galloping over the shrub-dotted grasslands throughout the year. The Masai River flowing through further fosters crocodiles and hippos along its riverbanks, its forests home to an amazing array of bird species. Yet it’s the resident population of carnivores that makes this one so special—from the ferocious plains lion, to the elusive spotted leopard.
A great many visitors opt to schedule their visit to coincide with the Great Migration of July and October, when the Serengeti’s vast populations of wildebeest descend on the Kenyan plains in search of pasture, churning and transforming the environment all around as they go. While game drives, walking safaris and hot air balloons are amazing ways of exploring the reserve’s bounties with your Maasai Mara tourist guide, don’t miss a cultural tour to learn more about the distinctive and hospitable Maasai people, who currently manage the area, its conservation and protection.