Maasai Mara National Reserve and the endless plains of Narok

Maasai Mara National Reserve in Narok, south-western Kenya, stretches across open savannah linked to the Serengeti, where wildlife ranges over grassland shaped by the Mara River.

Maasai Mara National Reserve in Narok County, south-western Kenya, is a sweep of grassland where open savannah runs into Tanzania’s Serengeti across an unfenced border. First protected in the mid-twentieth century and formally recognised as a reserve in 1974, it forms the Kenyan section of the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem and remains one of East Africa’s defining wildlife landscapes.

Grassland, rivers and the shape of the reserve

Maasai Mara National Reserve covers about 1,510 km² (580 sq mi) of mainly grassland and open savannah, with scattered trees and thickets following the watercourses that cross the plains.The reserve park covers an area The land lies in the Great Rift Valley region, with gentler undulations than some of Kenya’s higher escarpments, and drops towards the border with Tanzania where it meets Serengeti National Park across the line.

The reserve is named for the Maasai people and the Mara River, which runs through the landscape and gives the grassland its distinct pattern of riverine vegetation and open plains.Masai Mara National Reserve is a protected savannah Lines of gallery woodland follow the river, while beyond them the savannah stretches out towards the horizon, broken by occasional ridges and isolated stands of trees that serve as landmarks in an otherwise wide, open view.

From early sanctuary to national reserve

The protected history of Maasai Mara National Reserve reaches back to 1948, when a section of the area known as the Mara Triangle was declared a national game reserve under the colonial administration.The Maasai Mara National Reserve was first established in 1948 In 1961 the protected land was enlarged eastwards to create a bigger reserve, and in 1974 the area received the formal designation Maasai Mara National Reserve under Kenyan law.The Maasai Mara Game Reserve was established through legal notice 271 of 1974

The reserve is managed by the Narok County Government, which divides responsibilities between sectors that reflect the geography of the landscape.It is managed by the Narok County Government and has two management sectors The western Mara Triangle sector is run on the county’s behalf by Mara Conservancy, while other areas fall directly under the county administration, linking the reserve to neighbouring community conservancies that form part of the Greater Maasai Mara ecosystem.

Wildlife, seasons and the wider ecosystem

Maasai Mara National Reserve holds large populations of herbivores and predators that move across the plains and through the river valleys as part of the wider Serengeti–Mara system.Maasai Mara is a large national game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania The reserve is known for lions, leopards and cheetahs alongside plains game such as wildebeest, zebra and antelope, which move between Kenya and Tanzania as grazing conditions change across the year.

The reserve’s place within the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem ties it to a much larger area of over 25,000 km² of grassland and woodland extending into Tanzania.The Reserve is the northernmost section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem Around the core reserve, named community conservancies create additional protected space where wildlife shares the rangeland with pastoralism, giving the landscape a mosaic character that combines formal reserve boundaries with Maasai community lands.

Visiting Maasai Mara National Reserve: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Maasai Mara National Reserve lies in Narok County in south-western Kenya and is usually reached from Nairobi, either by road or by domestic flight to airstrips serving the reserve region.
• The terrain is largely open savannah with game tracks crossing grassland and low ridges; vehicles follow unpaved surfaces and river crossings, and some lodges and camps are reached by short walks from parking areas.
• The reserve forms part of the Greater Maasai Mara ecosystem in Kenya, and neighbouring community conservancies border the main reserve, so travel within the area can involve moving between lands with different management arrangements.
• The official language is English and the currency is the Kenyan shilling.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

Searching for Maasai Mara National Reserve on social platforms

These links open searches for Maasai Mara National Reserve on each platform.

Frequently asked questions about Maasai Mara National Reserve

Where is Maasai Mara National Reserve?

Maasai Mara National Reserve lies in Narok County in south-western Kenya, within the Great Rift Valley region and contiguous with Serengeti National Park across the border in Tanzania.

What can visitors expect on a visit?

Visitors encounter open savannah, river valleys and a wide range of wildlife, with game drives following tracks across grassland, riverine woodland and low ridges within the protected landscape.

What makes Maasai Mara National Reserve distinctive?

Maasai Mara National Reserve stands out for its combination of open plains, the Mara River system and its role as the northern section of the wider Serengeti–Mara ecosystem shared with Tanzania.