On the edge of the Great Rift Valley, in remote, sparsely peopled, south-western Kenya, the Masai Mara is astounding for the wealth and variety of its animals and birds. It’s not unusual to observe a Mara landscape improbably populated with a dozen mammals: in addition to the ‘Big Five,’ the Mara plains supports herbivores including eland, topi, giraffe (common and Masai), Thomson and Grant’s gazelle, and zebra, hunted by a host of predators. The savannah is watered by the Mara and Talek rivers, inhabited by pods of hippo and an orgy of crocodiles, setting the scene for some of the most stirring moments in the Great Migration. Over 500 bird species have been recorded in the Masai Mara, among them 53 birds of prey.

With the Loita Plains, the Mara is the northernmost part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. It comprises: the Mara Triangle, which is the western third of the national reserve; the central Musiara section, made famous in the Big Cat Diary; the 700 km2 of the eastern Sekenani section; and, on the northern boundaries of the national reserve, the privately-managed conservancies, holding some of the richest flora and fauna in the whole ecosystem. National reserve regulations do not apply in the conservancies, which are owned by the Maasai, so you can enjoy nocturnal game viewing on night drives, sensational meals in the bush and an up-close experience of the Mara on game walks. In the best of the conservancies, the Maasai landowners earn a guaranteed income from devoting their land to wildlife conservation and are partners in implementing sound land management policies, including low-volume tourism.

The Great Migration is the endless quest for grass and water that causes up to 1.5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands others herbivores to circle the Serengeti ecosystem in an annual cycle. The wildebeest cross into the Mara around July. By October, when the short rains begin to fall on the Serengeti, the migration starts to move south once again. If you are timing your Kenya safari to coincide with the migration, a camp on the Mara or Sand River may provide you with a ring-side seat of the spectacular river crossings; while, in the Olare Orok Conservancy, the migration from the Serengeti is swollen by the earlier Loita Hills migration.

The Masai Mara owes its name to the inhabitants of the area, the Maasai, and the acacia trees that dot the landscape – “mara” means spotted or mottled in Maa, the language of the Maasai. Traditionally, the Maasai are nomadic herders, known for their bright red attire, their cattle-based diet and their distinctive culture. You may want to visit a village or manyatta or the Koiyaki Guiding School, which trains local Maasai to contribute to and benefit from the preservation of the Mara as one of Africa’s greatest wildlife areas.

For information about places to stay, see Masai Mara accommodation.