Masai Mara Kenya

MASAI MARA
The Masai Mara is one of the best-known and most visited reserves in Africa. Situated in the southwest of Kenya, covering an area of 1 510 square km (583 square miles), the Masai Mara National Reserve is a land of breathtaking vistas, gently rolling grassland – specked with flat-topped acacia trees, abundant wildlife and endless plains. The reserve is home to an excellent year-round concentration of game, including the more than two million wildebeest, zebras and other antelopes that make up the famous Great Migration which takes place every year July to September the best time to visit Masai Mara. Game viewing is optimal at this time as there is plenty of predator and prey interactions. The movement is, centered around the wildebeest migrating from Serengeti into Masai Mara during the dry period in Tanzania, crossing the mighty Mara River on their way.
Masai Mara comprises not just the famous reserve but also around a dozen community conservancies, several group ranches and numerous Maasai villages
There are four main types of terrain in the Mara – the Ngama Hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes favoured by black rhino; Oloololo Escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a magnificent plateau; Mara Triangle bordering the Mara River with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game, especially migrating wildebeest; and the Central Plains, forming the largest part of the reserve with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.
The reserve is a photographer’s and naturalist’s paradise, with the so-called “Big Five”– buffalo, elephant, wild dog, leopard, lion, rhinoceros and other abundant plain games. Leopards are frequently encountered, endangered black rhino hide in the dense thickets and large rafts of hippo and enormous crocodiles are found in the Mara River. The park is also home to over 450 prolific bird species.