Where’s the Best Place to See the Wildebeest Migration?

The wildebeest migration is sometimes referred to as the greatest wildlife show on earth happening across Kenya and Tanzania. Where’s the best place to see the wildebeest migration between Kenya and Tanzania?

Wildebeest migration occurs in a regular pattern as thousands of the wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles move through the Serengeti Masai Mara ecosystem in search of green pasture. With these large herds, this is the largest wildlife group you may ever see on an African safari, this is why it is one of the natural world’s greatest wonders.

• Wildebeest Migration in Masai Mara Kenya 

Masai Mara National Reserve is situated southwest of Kenya and covers about 1,510 square kilometers (583 square miles). The Reserve is one of the popular Kenya wildlife safari parks, a land with breathtaking vistas, abundant wildlife, and endless plains.

The reserve is an amazing Kenya safari destination as it holds several attractions with an excellent year-round concentration of wildlife including thousands of the wildebeest that roam the plains of the park. Wildebeest move in thousands including millions of wildebeest, zebras, and several other antelopes that form the famous Great Wildebeest migration which is one of the world’s natural wonders.

The wildebeest migration is one of the top spectacular sights and particularly seeing the drama on the Grumeti River as the millions of wildebeest cross from the Serengeti to Masai Mara is such a safari experience. The best time to see this event is in late September and October.

June to October is generally the best time to visit Masai Mara for wildlife viewing. June to October have the best weather.

September to October is the best time to visit Masai Mara for the wildebeest viewing experience.

Masai Mara is a great wildlife photography destination with lots of wildlife animals like elephants, buffalo, giraffes, lions, cheetah, leopards, zebras, black rhinos, hippos, migratory wildebeest and enormous crocodiles on the Mara River.

The beauty of the wild animals in Masai Mara is that animals are in large numbers and therefore pose very scenic and wonderful sights for tourists.

Game viewing is good in the park all year round thanks to the diverse population of the resident animals.

Kenya is a great safari destination where millions of tourists visit every single year. The best time to visit Kenya for safari holidays is during the dry season months. The best times to visit Kenya are the months from June to October which is the long dry season and also from December to February which is the short dry season. Choosing when to visit Kenya is a great decision for tourists to make, however, there is no definite time that is best suitable for visiting Kenya. This is because one person’s ideal weather can be another person’s disappointments. The dry season is generally the best time since there are many days with high temperatures and low chances of rain.

• Wildebeest Migration in Serengeti National Park Tanzania 

Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous African wildlife safari game drive destinations. The park is renowned for a large concentration of wildlife including the great migration which includes about two million wildebeest. Serengeti is almost endless grassy plains covering about 14,750 square kilometers with the oldest ecology in the country.

The park is located in the northern corridor 7 hours’ drive from the tourist city of Arusha driving through the Lake Manyara region, Ngorongoro Conservation Area as well as the Serengeti National Park. From the kopjes in the north to the acacia-dotted endless plains to the south, a stay in Serengeti is amazing as you can spend time in different points of the park and feel like it’s all a new experience.

Serengeti National Park borders the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the south and the Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya in the North where the wildebeest also roam.  The Ngorongoro Conservation Area has open plains with little dotted trees that attract highly nutritious grass which attracts wildebeest, especially in January for the calving season which takes about 2 months then after migrating back to the central Serengeti area when the newly born have the strength to walk for long distances.

Other wildlife in Serengeti

The park is home to large herds of wildlife like Buffaloes, gazelles, waterbucks, topis, oribi, zebras, wildebeest, dik-dik, and many others. Serengeti National Park ecosystem inhabits the largest number of lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas in Tanzania.

Many buffaloes and elephants are found in the North West which is covered by Terminalia-combretum woodlands replaced the acacia woodlands. To best see all the wildlife in the park, you have to take game drives at least two to enjoy seeing the wildlife.

The other way of enjoying seeing wildlife in Serengeti is by taking a hot air balloon which is amazing and offers a perfect ariel view of the park.

Masai Mara & Serengeti are the wildebeest migration habitats and having a combined trip through this ecosystem offers one of the greatest spectacular wildlife viewing experiences. A safari tour to Masai Mara and Serengeti will combine a Kenya safari with a Tanzania safari to the Masai Mara National Reserve and Serengeti National Reserve respectively.

For authentic African safari experiences, customize Masai Mara & Serengeti safari tours with a visit to other National parks like Amboseli and also to other destinations. A Tanzania safari, Rwanda tour, or gorilla safari in Uganda are also great ways to explore East Africa.

Choosing where’s the best place to see wildebeest migration depends on your schedule, just make sure you have the right itinerary at the right time of the year. In all destinations, the best points for the drama are the flash-points of the Mara River, the plains of the Masai Mara National Park, and the Ndutu Plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti.