In mid-July 2026 the Great Migration has reached northern Serengeti and the Mara River, and the first crossings into Kenya's Masai Mara are happening now — with the classic window running late July through August.
In early 2026 a Kenyan court dismissed a challenge to a luxury Ritz-Carlton camp inside the Maasai Mara, reigniting the fierce debate over new construction in the reserve's wildlife corridors.
The Masai Mara now charges seasonal fees — up to USD 200 per day in high season — plus a 12-hour ticket rule. Here is what to budget for your Migration safari.
From dawn starts to hot-air balloon flights, here's how game drives work in the Masai Mara — including the key differences between the reserve and the conservancies.
Lion on the plains, cheetah on the open grasslands, leopard along the rivers — a practical guide to finding the Masai Mara's three big cats and why the conservancies offer the best viewing.
The wildebeest herds typically reach the Masai Mara between July and October — here's how the timing works, when river crossings happen, and why the dates shift each year.
Everything a first-time visitor needs for the Masai Mara: where it is, reserve vs conservancies, getting there, what game drives are like and when to go.
With the death of Winda in March 2025, the Maasai Mara's famous five-strong cheetah coalition, the Tano Bora, has all but vanished, leaving a single survivor on the plains.
A little-known indigenous forest beside the Maasai Mara is being cleared at alarming speed, threatening the Mara River, rare wildlife and the region's dry-season water supply.
In June 2024 Narok County barred private and self-drive vehicles from game drives inside the Maasai Mara, ending a long-standing option for independent travellers.
