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03/KE
Big cats, open plains and Kilimanjaro behind the elephants.
The Mara in migration season, Amboseli for tuskers, Nakuru for flamingos.
About Kenya
Kenya is the classic, and it earns it. The Maasai Mara carries the highest predator density in East Africa, and from July to October the wildebeest herds are on its northern plains.
Amboseli delivers the photograph most people picture before they book: big-tusked elephants crossing dry pan with Kilimanjaro behind them. Lake Nakuru adds flamingos and both rhino species on a short drive out of Nairobi.
- Gateway
- Nairobi (NBO)
- Migration in the Mara
- Jul to Oct
- Conservancies
- Lower vehicle limits
- Cat density
- Highest in the region
Where you go in Kenya
Maasai Mara
Lion, cheetah and leopard at close range, and the northern end of the wildebeest migration from July.
Amboseli
Elephant herds on open pan under Kilimanjaro, with some of the last big tuskers in Africa.
Lake Nakuru
Flamingo flocks, white and black rhino, and Rothschild giraffe inside a fenced sanctuary.
Tsavo
Red dust elephants across the largest protected area in Kenya, quiet compared with the Mara.
How we plan Kenya
Conservancy over reserve
The private conservancies bordering the Mara cap vehicles per sighting and allow night drives and walking. We default to them wherever the budget reaches.
Balloon at first light
A dawn balloon over the Mara, landing to breakfast on the plain. It is the one add-on almost nobody regrets paying for.
Maasai on their own terms
Community visits arranged directly with the group manyatta, priced openly, with the fee going to the community rather than a middleman.
When to go
Best
Jul to Oct
Migration herds in the Mara and dry, concentrated game everywhere else.
Strong
Jan to Feb
Hot and dry. Superb cat viewing without the migration crowd.
Green
Mar to May
Long rains. Lush, quiet, cheap, and some camps close.
Mixed
Nov to Dec
Short rains, newborn game, good value ahead of the Christmas peak.
Maasai Mara big cats and Amboseli tuskers.
Photographs from Kenya
Before you plan Kenya
Next destination
Tanzania
Great Migration, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar
Ready to plan Kenya?
Tell us when you want to travel and who is coming.