MASAI MARA NATIONAL PARK.

This national park is sometimes called Maasai Mara though some also call it The Mara. This national park was named in honor of the Maasai people within this place where it’s found and might have migrated from the Nile Basin. The name Mara means spotted in the Maasai local language.

This national park is among the most famous and important national parks across Africa known for its exceptional population of the lions, African leopards, Cheater and the African bush elephants. This park also hosts the Great Migration which secured it as the Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Genesis and the size of the Maasai Mara National park

This national park was established in1961 as a wildlife sanctuary with only 520square kilometers by then.  The park was then extended to eastern side the same year to reach 1821 square kilometers and into a game reserve. By then, the national park was under the NCC. The part of the park was given the National Reserve Status and the remaining area was put under the local communities of about 159km². By 1994 Trans Mara County council was formed in the western part of the reserve and the power and control was divided between the NNC and the new council formed.

By 2021, the nonprofit Mara conservation took over management of the Mara triangle which covers the western part of the reserve

By now, the total area under the greater Mara National Park is 1510km² in the Northern most of Mara Serengeti ecosystem that covers 25000squre kilometers in Kenya and Tanzanian.

Things to Do

Game drives

Game drives at Maasai Mara national park, the game drives are divided into morning and the evening drives and this all done through different trails led by four guides.in the morning drive, visitors will be able to catch the sunrise as they graze well as ambush the cats as they return from their night hunt. During the night drive, visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of reptiles as well as the cats as they move to hunt. Some of the animals to be seen include, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles and many others. In both drives, are so fascinating though the morning drive seem to have more chances of seeing many animals and birds compared to the evening one

Guided nature walks.

This activity is one of the best experiences in the park. The protected visitors helped by equipped guides will guide the visitors through the trails that are not usually walked through by predators and here, many animals will be seen like Elephants, Zebras, antelopes and many grass eaters. The Maasai themselves act as the guides here putting on their cultural dress. During the migration of wildebeest season, visitors will move to the river where most of the animals tend to concentrate to take water

Birding

The park is having over 500bird species. This could be a real site for the ideal birders. The park has the largest bird species on the planet called ostriches and also over 40 species of the meat eater birds. This national park is the best in Africa for birding because it won an award as over 345 different bird species can be spotted with a period of 24hours. This is incredible. Some of the birds include, pigeons, woodpeckers, doves, cattle egrets, African Fish eagle, secretary birds, Kori bustard and many others

Wildebeest migration.

During the migration seasons, this place is filled with visitors coming to watch these wildebeests migrating in large herds across River Mara. This is among the seven wonders of world.

Cultural trails.

The Maasai people who are the people who have been in this place a long period of time has a different culture from all cultures which you need to look at. Visit their cultural communities and experience the culture you have never thought of. These tribes of the Maasai are said to have been in this place for over hundreds of years but their culture and customs have never melted. They have different cultural dances, feeding on blood and herbs though use known foods, have fun with the fantastic cultural tribe in Africa.

Air balloon experience

The only best way of viewing the nature of the national park freely without stressing your self is to have a hot balloon air experience as you view the animals in the course and the vegetation, birds and the relief of this national park. The activity is takes from 1-2 hours depending of the weather condition. On reaching down, you will have a story to tell, trust me.

Accommodations

Some of the accommodation facilities include, Governor’s camp, Mara Chui Resort, Maji moto eco-camp, Talek bush camp Siana spring Camp, Olare Mara Kempinsk and many others within the and around the park

How to get to the park

From Nairobi, take a6hour journey on the road to Maasai Mara National Park while you can also use a plane that require booking from Nairobi to the park of about 45minutes only.