Is Masai Mara the best Africa safari Destination? Let us see. Hidden in the south western part of Kenya about 270 kilometers from the capital city Nairobi is a natural wildlife theater that is surrounded by a people stuck to their colorful tradition and culture.
Masai Mara National Reserve gets its name from the local Maasai people as a result of the shrub that dots the rolling savannah plains. Masai Mara Game Reserve covers an area of approximately 1510 SQKM and is the northern extension of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
Masai Mara Game Reserve is probably the most famous wildlife protected area in Africa if not in the world.
Masai Mara Game Reserve is separated from the Serengeti National Park by the Mara River that also in some parts acts as the International demarcation feature between Kenya and Tanzania and with its tributaries acts as the major source of water.
This famous reserve is dominated by rolling grassland with riverine vegetation along the river line and spots of acacia bush-land. Masai Mara Game Reserve altitude is surprisingly high at about 1870m above sea level.
Why Enjoy a Masai Mara Safari
Masai Mara National Reserve is quite famous world over. This has been contributed by the fact that Masai Mara hosts the annual great migration and the ‘big cat diary’ a popular BBC wildlife television series that follows the lifestyle of families of Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards.
There are so many reasons to enjoy a Masai Mara Safari and the main ones includes:
- This is the best place to see the largest movement of mammals in the world at a go. The great migration has an average of one million two hundred thousand wildebeest crossing the Mara river twice.
- Big Five – Masai Mara Game Reserve is one of the few places in the world that you will be able to see the Lion, Cheetah, the elusive leopard, the endangered black rhino and the elephant. Five wildlife species that were hunted for trophy.
- Masai Mara boasts of over 80 mammal species giving an African safari goer an opportunity to see some of the most treasured wild animals.
- The attractive culture of the Maasai people who have coexisted with this wild animals for decades.
An average of two nights would be OK for one to sample a cocktail of wildlife that Masai Mara Game Reserve offers.
Your style of African travel on this Kenya safari to Masai Mara is determined by your budget and like. You can opt for a high end luxury or budget travel.
Accommodation in Masai Mara
Because of its size and distance from Nairobi, one has no choice but to have his nights under the star filled African sky in Masai Mara lodges or camps. Accommodation in Masai Mara can be divided into:
- 5 star luxury lodges that include the likes of Keekorok and Mara Serena Lodge
- 5 star luxury semi permanent Camps that has Mara Sarova Tented Camp
- Mid Range Lodges under which we have Mara Leisure Lodge
- Exclusive Small Tented camps where Governors, Mara Explorer etc belongs
- Basic Camps and camp site that caters for the low end
Best Time for a Masai Mara Safari
Many a times Masai Mara gets hundreds of thousands of visitors in a month. While some are first timers we have others who have made Masai Mara safari a ritual and especially in June – July when the wildebeests are crossing the Mara River.
The best time to visit Masai Mara is between from end June running to October. Over this period you will not lack action as Mara is filled to near capacity with wildlife. However due to demand, it is this period that you have to pay more as it is the peak season.
April and May are the long rainy season and falls in low season, you can easily travel for a bargain. You will still see wildlife but not as many as during the peak.
The short rains come in November and early December and is a shoulder season with your Masai mara safari cost being somewhere between Peak and low season.
January to March is generally the coolest months and quite popular, and the game tends to concentrate around the available water supplies and easy to track. The cost are in most instances same as peak season.