# Maasai Mara: map, what to do and when to go

The savanna of southwestern Kenya where wildebeest cross the Mara River and big cats hunt in open country

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Maasai Mara: how do you get there by plane?** Regional airlines such as Airkenya and Safarilink fly daily from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to the Mara's dirt airstrips: Keekorok, Olkiombo, Musiara, Mara Serena and Kichwa Tembo.
- **Maasai Mara: can you go by road from Nairobi?** The reserve's eastern edge is 224 km from Nairobi.
- **Maasai Mara: how many days should I stay?** I'd stay three days in the Masai Mara, with three nights in the same camp, and I'd consider a fourth.

## Arrival by air and a first afternoon outing
Take the morning flight from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to the airstrip closest to your camp (Keekorok, Olkiombo, Musiara, Mara Serena or Kichwa Tembo); confirm the airstrip with the reserve.
- Keekorok

## A full day to the Mara River
Leave at 6 a.m., when the gates open, with breakfast and lunch in a picnic box in the car.
- Mara River
- Lookout Hill
- Purungat Bridge

## Mara River
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-rio-mara
Half a day or more
The river that rises on the Mau escarpment and cuts across the reserve to Tanzania is the stage for the crossings: when the migration is in the Mara, columns of wildebeest and zebra gather on the bank, hesitate and cross in front of crocodiles, sometimes in both directions on the same day. Nobody can predict the time; the Mara Conservancy says only that restless animals crowded on the bank are a good sign. The 1.5 km strip on each side of the river is a special zone: no leaving the road, no getting out of the car and no parking that blocks the way. Outside the migration, the river is still worth visiting for its hippos, crocodiles and riverine woodland.
Check access

## Mara Triangle
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-triangulo-do-mara
Half a day or more
The sector west of the river, run by the Mara Conservancy since 2001, has well-kept gravel roads, only two places to stay within its boundaries and control over the number of vehicles around the animals: when more than five are waiting, each gets ten minutes. The Oloololo escarpment closes the horizon to the west, and the Conservancy monitors more than ten black rhinoceroses there; the county management plan estimated about 50 in the whole reserve in 2023. From the Oloololo gate to the Purungat bridge is a little over an hour by car on the main road.
Check access

## Lookout Hill
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-lookout-hill
Up to half an hour
A hill in the Central Mara used as a viewpoint over the plains; according to the Mara Conservancy, when the herds enter from the south, they move toward Lookout Hill before going down to the Mara River. The county management plan lists it among the busiest places, with restrooms for visitors.
Check access

## Purungat Bridge
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-purungat-bridge
Up to half an hour
The bridge over the Mara River that links the Central Mara to the Triangle, with a Triangle fee post. The county management plan cites the hippo pool next to the bridge as one of the most sought-after stops, and it is the required crossing for anyone going from one sector to the other.
Check access

## Sand River
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-sand-river
One to two hours
The river at the far south, next to the Tanzanian border, gives its name to a gate and a public campsite. This is where the first migration herds usually enter the reserve from the Serengeti, before heading north.
Check access

## Oloololo Escarpment
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-oloololo-escarpment
Up to half an hour
The step of the Rift Valley that forms the western edge of the Triangle. Seen from below, it closes off the landscape; from above, where some camps outside the reserve are located, it opens a view over the Mara River and the plains. The waterlogged ground at the foot of the escarpment concentrates animals.
Check access

## Olare Motorogi Conservancy
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-olare-motorogi-conservancy
Half a day or more
A 140 km² conservancy created in 2006 on Maasai land next to the Central Mara. Like the other conservancies, it has few camps and receives only their guests: in return, it allows guided walks, night drives and off-road driving to see the animals, activities prohibited inside the reserve.
Check access

## Keekorok
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/masai-mara/#g-lugar-keekorok
Up to half an hour
The reserve's first lodge, from 1965, gave its name to this area in the south of the Central Mara, with an airstrip and a wooden walkway to a hippo pool. The area has a 16 km zone where no new accommodation is allowed.
Check access

**Maasai Mara: how do you get there by plane?**
Regional airlines such as Airkenya and Safarilink fly daily from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to the Mara's dirt airstrips: Keekorok, Olkiombo, Musiara, Mara Serena and Kichwa Tembo. On Airkenya's 2025 schedule, the first landing was about 40 minutes after takeoff; the plane usually lands at more than one strip, so the time to yours depends on the day's route. The camp picks guests up at the airstrip. The planes are small: check the baggage limit and accepted bag type with the airline. International flights arrive at Jomo Kenyatta Airport (JKIA), about 15 km from central Nairobi; Wilson is 11 km from the center, in another part of the city, and the connection between the two is by road. At Wilson there is no official taxi counter and each airline has its own terminal: arrange the transfer in advance, and allow for Nairobi traffic or spend a night in the city before the flight to the Mara.

**Maasai Mara: can you go by road from Nairobi?**
The reserve's eastern edge is 224 km from Nairobi. The trip takes about five hours in the dry season and up to seven in the rain, on the road that passes through Narok; the pavement runs from Narok to the Sekenani gate. For the Triangle, those sleeping outside the western gates, near Oloololo, use the route through Aitong. Off the pavement, only with a 4x4 vehicle.

**Maasai Mara: how many days should I stay?**
I'd stay three days in the Masai Mara, with three nights in the same camp, and I'd consider a fourth. The first day is the arrival, with the afternoon outing; the second is entirely on the Mara River, with a picnic in the car, because the crossing keeps no schedule; the third begins with the balloon or Musiara Marsh and ends at a Maasai village or with one last drive across the plains. With two days, you will see big cats, but you are at the mercy of luck at the river. The fourth day, with one more night, I'd spend in the Mara Triangle, crossing the Purungat bridge, to see the other bank with fewer cars. During the migration, I'd book early and pick the camp by its distance to the river; outside it, I'd consider splitting the nights with a conservancy to walk with a guide.

**Maasai Mara: when is the best time to go?**
July to October; this is when the wildebeest migration is usually in the Mara and river crossings happen, but the arrival changes every year with the rain. From January to June the non-resident entry fee is half, and April and May bring the long rains, with dirt roads waterlogged.

**Maasai Mara: when can you see the Mara River crossing?**
The wildebeest migration usually arrives from the Serengeti between June and July and may stay until November, with the peak of the crossings generally from July to October, but the calendar depends on the rain: a storm in the middle of the dry season can send the herds back to the Serengeti, and they may return weeks later. Nobody can predict the time; the Mara Conservancy says only that restless animals crowded on the bank are a good sign. A stay of one or two days in July does not guarantee wildebeest at the river.

**Maasai Mara: how does the entry fee work?**
Entry fees for non-residents are set in US dollars. The Narok County schedule, in force since January 2024, charges non-resident adults US$200 from July to December and US$100 from January to June; children aged 9 to 17 pay US$50, and those up to 8 pay nothing. Residents and East African citizens have their own schedules in shillings. The ticket is valid for 12 hours, from 6:00 to 18:00, and does not carry over the night: each day in the park is a new ticket. Bring your passport: it is what proves your category, and a driver's license will not do. In most packages, the fee, vehicle, driver and full board are included in the price of the camp or operator.

**Maasai Mara: how do you pay the fee?**
In the Triangle, nothing is paid in cash: only card or M-Pesa, online with the ticketing company KAPS, in Nairobi, or with its staff at the Purungat bridge, the Oloololo gate and the Mara Serena airstrip. On the Narok side, the same KAPS issues the electronic tickets, usually requested by the tour operator; confirm the payment method with the operator before reaching the gate.

**Maasai Mara: is it better to sleep inside the reserve, in a conservancy or in Talek?**
Inside the Central Mara, the camps and lodges are near the crossing points and the airstrips, for those who want to be at the river at 06:00 without going through a gate; during the migration, there are many cars at the same sightings, and each night requires the day's ticket, which usually comes in the package. The northern and eastern conservancies, for those who can pay for an exclusive camp, have few camps, a limit on vehicles per sighting, and offer what the reserve prohibits, such as walking with a guide and going out at night; the reserve remains reachable by car for a day at the river, with the corresponding ticket, but some conservancies are far from the crossing points. Talek and Sekenani, right up against the gates, concentrate the budget camps; quality varies a lot: check the recent reviews, the type of vehicle and the number of passengers included. Each entry into the reserve requires a ticket, and nobody enters after 18:30

**Maasai Mara: can you do a walking or night safari?**
Reserve rules prohibit walking safaris, horseback and bicycle safaris, and night drives; inside the reserve you walk only in picnic areas and at the accommodations. Guided walks and night drives require sleeping in a conservancy that offers them.

**Maasai Mara: is it safe?**
The real risk in the Mara is the animals, and the reserve's rules exist for that reason: stay inside the vehicle, get out only at picnic areas and at most 10 m from the car, and never at the river's edge during a crossing. Do not sit or stand on the roof. At camps without fences, follow the staff's instructions for walking between your tent and the common area after dark. Anyone driving near the border should be careful not to enter Tanzania: the reserve administration warns that it takes no responsibility for anyone detained on the other side. Before the trip, seek medical advice on malaria and yellow fever for the region and for your connections; drink bottled or filtered water, which the camps provide. Help is far away: according to the Mara Conservancy's emergency page, there are clinics at Angama Mara Lodge, Kichwa Tembo Camp and Mara Serena Lodge, and air evacuation of serious patients is carried out by AMREF Flying Doctors, who may charge up to US$5,000 to non-members; the Conservancy recommends temporary membership during the visit. Also check what your insurance covers.

**Maasai Mara: is it worth visiting the Mara Triangle?**
For those sleeping east of the river, the Triangle is a full day by car: you cross the river by the Purungat bridge and drive the gravel roads to near the Oloololo escarpment, a little over an hour away by the main road. The fee paid in the sector where you sleep is valid for the visit. Leave at 6:00 with a picnic, pick the rhinoceroses and the western bank of the river, and come back over the same bridge before 19:00


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 3 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/masai-mara/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/masai-mara/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/masai-mara.md