Basecamp Maasai Mara is as much a home as it is a travel destination. Guests become more than visitors, they become part of the Maasai community. Join us around the fireplace, for storytelling and star gazing. This camp is our own cradle of mankind, where our journey once began. Situated along the Talek river in a tropical forest, you are co-existing with the birds and monkeys in the trees outside the tent. The Mara national reserve is just across the river, offering the highest density of wild animals in the world. This is the base for much of our high impact work. Planting of trees is one of several big projects.

Tents

We offer 17 double tents, all built along the banks of the Talek river. The dense riverbed foliage allows for privacy and comfort. With more than 286 bird species, you are certain to wake to a symphony of birdsong. All tents have bio-flush toilets, solar-heated safari showers and a private balcony, where you have the direct view of Maasai Mara national reserve.

Riverside double tent

Each tent offers a king size double or twin beds, bathroom featuring bio-flush toilets and two showers, one inside and one open-air safari shower, private deck with view towards the river bed and Maasai Mara national reserve.

Riverside family tent

The family tent has two separate wings, each with a double bed and a shared bathroom area. The tent offers a larger deluxe balcony to give families or groups a chance to socialize in complete privacy.

Animals of Maasai Mara

The expert guides are always ready to reveal to you the secrets of the savanna. Maasai Mara game reserve is a renowned park that offers wildlife viewing throughout the year. The Maasai Mara plains are dominated by a variety of mammals. From large herds of herbivores which include the wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle to the famous Big Five. It is also home to the Nile crocodile. You will spot them sunbathing on the riverbanks, mouths agape, waiting for prey. There are also over 450 species of birds.

Maasai Mara reserve

The Maasai Mara is one of the best-known reserves in the whole of Africa. It is renowned for its wildlife. More than 40% of Africa’s larger mammals can be found here. Across the vast plains of the Mara, visitors are able to witness lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants and other species in their natural habitats.

Landscape

Maasai Mara contains some 25% of what is left of Kenyan wildlife. The estimate says that around 70% of Kenya’s wildlife lives outside national parks and reserves. Thus the need for new role models preserving the Mara wildlife, on private land is paramount. Naboisho plays that role today. Africa has lost some 95-98% of its most iconic mammals over the last 100 year or so, elephants, rhinos, lions, and cheetah. WWF estimate that the world will lose 2/3 of its vertebras in the short period 1970-2020, ie 50 years. Some 70% of the world’s ecosystem is under stress due to loss of habitat.

Location

The Maasai Mara lies in the great rift valley, which is a fault line some 3,500 miles long stretching from Ethiopia’s Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Here the valley is wide, and a towering escarpment can be seen in the hazy distance. The animals are at liberty to move outside the park into huge areas known as dispersal areas. There can be as much wildlife roaming outside the park as inside. Many Maasai villages are located in the dispersal areas and they have developed a relationship with the wildlife.

Terrain

There are four main types of terrain in Mara – Ngama hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes favoured by black rhino; Oloololo escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a magnificent plateau; Mara triangle bordering the Mara river with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game, especially migrating wildebeest; and central plains, forming the largest part of the reserve with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.

Wildlife

The Mara is perhaps best known for the great migration, which takes place every year July to September. During these months the yellow savannah is dotted black by more than 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra and antelopes that migrate from the Serengeti to the Mara in search of food and water. This is where the world’s largest multi-species migration takes place. The movement is centred around the wildebeest migrating from Serengeti into Maasai Mara during the dry period in Tanzania, crossing the mighty Mara river on their way. The great wildebeest migration rightfully deserves its standing as one of the natural world’s most astonishing spectacles.

Migration

From the end of July onwards, millions of freshly arrived brown and black dots scatter the great plains of the Maasai Mara national reserve, making this natural wonder of the world even more wondrous until they wander back in December. The life cycle of the wildebeest is a snapshot of the circle of life of all living creatures. They wildebeest spend their lives wandering. Their migratory routes are determined by the rain patterns; they wander in constant pursuit of water and fresh grass. Similarly, their calving instincts are timed to the movements of the moon, resulting in a three-week-long birth fest on the Serengeti plains in February.

Wildebeest

The comings and goings of the wildebeest also shape the lives of many other species. For the predators of Maasai Mara, the arrival of the wildebeest marks the beginning of a time of feasting and prosperity. The big cats, in particular, thrive during the migration season. The abundance of available prey means that the lions, cheetah and leopards are able to grow strong and produce healthy offspring. The dramatic contrast between life and death can be witnessed during the great migration.

Making the migration even better

No one knows the savannah-like the Maasai – these are the true experts. Like the wildebeest, the Maasai people are a nomadic culture who wandered the plains with their cattle. In modern time the Maasai have been forced to find alternative ways of living. We are proud to have been their partners during this struggle to preserve their area.

Community

Experiencing the great migration adds another layer to witnessing this natural wonder of the world. A safari with the Maasai guides is a life-changing experience that will provide you with a deeper, more meaningful understanding of Maasai Mara. Because of our commitment to the Maasai community, we are able to provide authentic safari experiences that leave the guests filled with lifelong memories, a sense of purpose and a longing to participate.

Safari dimensions

The three camps have been designed to offer unique, yet complementary experiences. Our mother-camp, Basecamp Maasai Mara is situated bordering the Maasai Mara National Reserve, making this the ultimate place for welcoming the Great migration as they arrive from the Serengeti. For a different, but equally fantastic experience, our Naboisho Camps – Eagle view and Wilderness bush camp – offer exclusive viewing of the northern migration, the not-so-distant relations of the great migration. Wherever you are in our circuit the Basecamp signature of exclusivity, authenticity and sustainability remain.

Best time to see the migration