Every year, the plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara host one of the most incredible natural spectacles that exist on earth, the so-called Great Migration.
When is the best date to do the safari? Is Kenya or Tanzania better? Where will we see more animals? We will try to answer these questions shortly:
The Great Migration is a natural phenomenon that varies in dates from one year to another, depending on the climate and when the rains begin. Therefore, there are no guarantees as to its location on any given date. Although, in general, the migration is in the Masai Mara (Kenya) between the months of July/August to November, when they return to the south and cross the Serengeti (Tanzania) when the short rains begin.
The birth of these animals takes place between January and February. From the month of November to April, the wildebeest are concentrated in the south of the Serengeti and in the surrounding reserves with landscapes as wonderful as Lake Ndutu, where the females go to give birth. A unique moment where nearly 200,000 wildebeest are born.
In the month of March, when the surviving calves are ready to begin the long journey of migration to the north, towards the lands of the Masai Mara, they begin their journey to stop during the months of May and June in the northwestern part of the Serengeti.
Perhaps the best months are July, which is when they begin to cross the Mara River to Kenya, and October, when they return crossing the Sand River and the Mara, since although it is possible to see the crossings also in the intermediate months, a large part of the Great Migration extends to the north of the Mara River in Kenya, and then gradually moves to the South-East of the reserve.
It is a trek, a round trip of around 1,000 kilometres, through two countries (Tanzania and Kenya), across plains where predators – lions, cheetahs and leopards – are waiting to catch them, over hills and rivers infested with crocolates; Fight against hunger, thirst and fatigue; with many animals dying along the way. There is no real beginning and no real end to this exhibit.
