JUL – OCT · MARA RIVER
The great crossing
A million animals meet a river full of crocodile. The herds can build on the bank for six hours and then go in ninety seconds, everything depends on being there when they do.
- Best window
- July to October
- Peak
- Peak: mid-August through September
- Where
- The Mara river: Masai Mara, Kenya and the northern Serengeti
- Time needed
- 4–6 nights within reach of the river
- Ranges
- Explorer to Privé
What happens
Nothing about a crossing is scheduled. The herds come up out of the Serengeti in columns, reach the Mara and stop. They mill on the bank in their thousands, drink, walk the bank, turn back, come again. It can build all morning and end in ninety seconds, or build all morning and simply not happen.
The river is not wide, but it is deep-cut, and it holds Nile crocodile that have spent the year waiting for this fortnight. The far bank is the real hazard, a steep, churned exit where calves are separated and the current does the rest. What climbs out the other side is a herd that has paid for the grass ahead of it.
Which is why position and patience are the whole craft here. A camp close enough to the crossing points to be there at first light, a naturalist watching which way the lead animals are facing rather than chasing the radio, and the discipline to sit through the false starts. The people who see crossings are the people who were already there.
How it unfolds
- JUNE – EARLY JULY · The herds arrive, Columns push north out of the Serengeti. The first groups reach the river, test the banks, and the crossing points begin to form.
- AUGUST – SEPTEMBER · Peak crossings, The river sets the schedule. On a good day there are two or three before nine, and the predators shadow the herds along both banks.
- OCTOBER · The turn south, The herds recross and start back toward the Serengeti. A quieter river, superb light, and far fewer vehicles at the bank.
What to watch for
- The lead animal, One wildebeest decides, and a thousand follow within seconds
- The crocodile line, They position downstream of the entry point and let the current work
- The far bank, Where the crossing is won or lost, and where the sightings are
How we run it
- Camps close enough to the crossing points to be at the bank at first light
- Full days on the river with breakfast in the vehicle, not a return for brunch
- A naturalist reading the herd rather than following radio calls to a crowd
- We hold back from the entry point, vehicles pressed to the bank turn herds around
Two crossings at Lookout Hill before nine. The herds are stacking on the north bank; tomorrow the light and the numbers should both be right.
Nobody can promise a crossing on a given morning. What we can do is put you in the right place, for enough mornings, with someone who reads the river.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see the great crossing?
The window for the great crossing is July to October, in the Mara river: Masai Mara, Kenya and the northern Serengeti. Peak: mid-August through September. Junglore times its departures to that window rather than to a fixed calendar.
How many days do you need for the great crossing?
Junglore recommends 4–6 nights within reach of the river for the great crossing. Natural events do not perform on demand, and the extra mornings are what turn a possible sighting into a likely one.
Are you guaranteed to see the great crossing?
Nobody can promise a crossing on a given morning. What we can do is put you in the right place, for enough mornings, with someone who reads the river.
Where does the great crossing happen?
The great crossing happens in the Mara river: Masai Mara, Kenya and the northern Serengeti. The migration meets the river. Minutes of chaos a year in the making. Junglore plans it at Explorer to Privé, with a naturalist who works the area in season.