Maasai Mara National Reserve, a northern extension of the Serengeti Plains (Tanzania), is located southwest of Nairobi and covers 590 square miles. Open plains, acacia woodlands and riverine forest along the banks on the Mara and Talek Rivers are home for many hippo, crocs and waterfowl.
As the park teems with resident wildlife, game viewing is good year -round. The migration is when great herds of wildebeest (1.4 million) and zebra (250,000) reside in the Mara, from approximately July to October. During the migration, prides of 40 or more lion may be seen. From the southern Serengeti a major portion of the migration moves northwest toward Lake Victoria, then north across the Mara River into Kenya in search of grass, usually returning to Tanzania i n late October. The best time to witness large numbers of wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River is from mid/late July to mid/late September.
