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Masai Mara Game Reserve

Aside from being the ‘Seventh Wonder of the world', the Masai mara is the only game reserve of its kind in the world. The reserve is widely considered Africa 's greatest wildlife reserve.It is also the only place in the world you can be able to view ‘the great migration', the mass movement of Zebra and Wildebeest from The Serengeti in Tanzania into The Masai Mara and vice versa, as they cross the Mara river.

Background Information
The Mara comprises 200 sq miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti, the Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle, and Topi. The Acacia forests abound with Birdlife and Monkeys. Elephants and Buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp . The Mara and Talek rivers are brimming with Hippos and Crocodiles.

Location
In Kenya's semi-arid, rugged central region about 215 miles north of Nairobi lies the Samburu Game Reserve, a small oasis that is home to many rare animals, including Grevy zebras, long-necked gerenuk antelopes, Somali ostriches, Beisa oryxes and reticulated giraffes. You might also spot lounging crocodiles or elephants bathing in the Uaso Nyiro River , which runs through the reserve.

Climate
The climate is temperate. There is low humidity year round. The days are warm and the evenings cool. Maximum temperature is around 28 degrees Centigrade in December and minimum temperature is about 11 degrees Centigrade in July.

How to Get There

Road
The point of road access to this region is Narok, a 5 hour drive from Nairobi.

Air
The Mara is serviced by 2 airstrips. There are daily scheduled flights from Nairobi , and the coast. Private Charters also use these strips.A flight to Mara is about 40 minutes long.

Major Attractions
Each year the Mara plays host to the world's greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. From July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a surging column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon.At the Mara River they mass together on the banks before finally plunging forward through the raging waters, creating a frenzy as they fight against swift currents and waiting crocodiles.The wildebeest bring new life to the Mara, not just through their cycle of regeneration of the grasslands, but for the predators that follow the herds.

Facilities
Mara Serena Lodge, Keekorok Lodge, Siana Springs, Tipilikwani Tented Camp, Mara Intrepids camp, Sarova Mara Tented camp, Royal Mara and many others.

Common Vegetation
The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the southeast region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal.

National Parks & Game Reserves

Nairobi National Park

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Samburu Game Reserve

Shaba National Reserve

Aberdares National Park

Amboseli National Park

Tsavo East National Park

Tsavo West National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park

Mt. Kenya Forest National Park

Meru National Park

Shimba Hills National Reserve

Lake Bogoria National Park

Lake Baringo National Park

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