Maasai Mara is the Kenyan portion of the great Serengeti Plains, which means that it is quite simply one of the most astounding game parks in the world. Wildlife of all sorts is abundant here, but the particular attraction of the Serengeti has always been the migration of its enormous herds of wildebeest (1.3 million) and zebra (400,000). In search of water, the herds move north from the Serengeti in Tanzania in May or June, arriving in Maasai Mara around mid-July. The return to the South usually begins in the middle of October. Accompanying the herds, of course, are their natural predators, so that the migration also brings to Maasai Mara large prides of lion.

While the migration period is undoubtedly the best time to visit Maasai Mara, the reserve easily outpaces almost any other park even when the wildebeest are in the South. Many different species of antelope, elephant, leopard, cheetah, rhino, giraffe, buffalo--virtually all of Africa's big game animals in fact--can be found in abundance in Maasai Mara.