Which is the best time (month) to visit Masai Mara?

Which is the best time to visit Masai Mara for a Kenya safari should be known by any traveler planning to take a tour to the park for game viewing. Masai Mara National Reserve is one of Kenya’s best safari destinations with spectacular views of numerous wild animals that roam the plains. The best time to visit the Masai Mara is during the driest months of the year which are from late June to October. This is because these months receive very low rain totals and therefore best for wildlife viewing because the vegetation is thinner and therefore making it easy to spot wildlife and take clear pictures. During these months, animals collect around water holes to quench their thirst and therefore it is easy to spot them.

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 from 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.

However, the Masai Mara National Reserve is open to tourists all year round and wildlife can be spotted though the experience varies. The rainy months are March, April, November and early December. The rainy season makes navigation on the roads a little difficult and with the high rain totals, there are high chances of rain that makes the vegetation thicker and animals difficult to spot.

Wildlife in Masai Mara National Reserve

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

The beauty with the wild animals in Masai Mara is that animals are in large numbers and therefore pose very scenic and wonderful sights for tourists. There are large numbers to be seen and therefore surety of the possibility of seeing these animals all year round.

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

Wildebeest in Masai Mara

From July to November is the good time to see the wildebeest in Masai Mara.

The Great Wildebeest Migration is an annual migration of giant herds of animals all through from Northern Tanzania to Kenya. Each wildebeest migration constitutes of over two million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles moving from Serengeti National Park of Tanzania and Masai Mara National Park of Kenya.

Wildebeest migration occurs in a regular pattern as thousands of the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles move through the Serengeti Masai Mara eco system 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 greatest wonders.

Masai Mara National Reserve offers lots of amazing safaris with customized tour packages and therefore offers a need for booking great accommodation. Activities in the park are diverse ranging from child friendly to romantic. We recommend you choose staying in a facility close to the park for easy access into the reserve.

A side from wildlife viewing, you can also get involved in other Kenya tour activities like birding. The reserve alone has more than 500 bird species and therefore a good bird watching destination. It’s one of Kenya’s best birding hot spots for checking off savannah species on any birder bird list. Raptors are particularly many in the park with about 57 species of them present. Migratory birds can be seen from November to April.

Hot air balloon flight is also one of the authentic experiences that you can undertake in the park. Having a panoramic view of the park is a great idea.

Looking for authentic African safari experiences? Tailor a safari in Masai Mara with a visit to other National parks like Amboseli and also to other destination. A Tanzania safari, Rwanda tour or gorilla tracking safari in Uganda could be a good way to tour East Africa.