Masai Mara National Reserve - Kenya

The Masai Mara National Reserve is Kenya's premier wildlife park. It was established in 1961 to protect wildlife from hunters. The Masai Mara is the reason many visitors come to Kenya and its beauty and abundant wildlife won't disappoint. This guide to the Masai Mara will tell you what animals you can expect to see, the topography of the area, where to stay, how to get there, and what there is to do beyond the game drives.

The Masai Mara is in southwestern Kenya on the border with Tanzania. The reserve is situated in the Rift Valley with Tanzania's Serengeti Plains running along its southern end. The Mara River runs through the reserve (north to south) hosting plenty of hippos and crocodiles and making the annual migration of over a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras an extremely dangerous undertaking.

Most of the Masai Mara is made up of hilly grassland which is fed by plentiful rain, especially during the wet months between November and June.