This is the most popular of Kenya’s parks, with very good reason. Almost every species of animal you can think of in relation to East Africa lives on the well-watered plains in this remote part of the country. The landscape is mainly gently rolling grassland, with the rainfall in the north being double that of the south. The Mara River runs from north to south through the park and then turns westwards to Lake Victoria. Most of the plains are covered in a type of red-oat grass with acacias and thorn trees.
The Mara is 275 km southwest of Nairobi (five hours by road) in the remote southwestern corner of the country right on the Tanzanian border. The greater Mara covers some 1510 sq km ranging between 1500 m and 2100 m above sea level and is an extension of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, which covers some 40,000 sq km between the Rift Valley and Lake Victoria.