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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- Africa
- Kenya
- Nairobi
- Masai Mara National Reserve
Masai Mara National Reserve
Kenya's most visited park, commonly known as the Mara, is a
wildly beautiful place with rolling savannah grasslands and is an
extension of the Serengeti Plains in neighbouring Tanzania. Much of
the film 'Out of Africa' was filmed here and it offers wonderful
views and an extraordinary concentration of wildlife, including the
'Big Five'. It has the largest population of lion, and large herds
of grazers also attract many other predators such as cheetah and
hyena. The annual highlight is the Great Wildebeest Migration,
creating one of the world's supreme natural spectacles, when an
estimated two million animals form one large herd and leave the dry
plains of Tanzania to seek greener pastures in the north, arriving
in the Mara from late June onwards and returning again in
September. Their entrance into the Mara makes a breathtaking
spectacle, as they cross the crocodile infested waters of the Mara
River. A once in a lifetime way to experience the magic of an
African dawn over such a wilderness is by hot air balloon, drifting
silently over the herds below. These can be booked through any
safari company and operate daily from several of the lodges in the
reserve. Also within the reserve is a Masai village that holds
demonstrations of traditional dances and music as a source of
tourist income for the local communities of the Masai Mara National
Reserve. Traditionally the lands were used by the Masai for their
herds of cattle and the settlement programs set up to compensate
for their displacement have only recently been accepted, albeit
reluctantly. The proud warriors have become a symbol of tribal
Kenya with their beadwork, feathers, spears, decorated gourds and
red blankets. Today the Masai communities are allowed to hunt and
graze their animals in the reserve, and the occasional flash of red
glimpsed between the thorn trees and bush on the fringes of the
Mara has become a natural part of the Mara's character.
Information & Facts
Admission
US$30 (adults), US$10 (children) per day. There are
concessions for residents and citizens of Kenya
Language
English is the official language but Swahili is the
national language, with 42 ethnic languages spoken.
Money
The unit of currency is the Kenyan Shilling (KES), divided into
100 cents. It is not advisable to take Kenyan Shillings out of the
country, as they are difficult to exchange elsewhere. Travellers
cheques in Sterling or US Dollars are recommended for your trip to
Kenya. US Dollars in particular have become commonly used in many
of the country's main hotels and safari lodges. Foreign currency
can be changed at banks, bureaux de change and hotels; easiest to
exchange are US dollars, pounds sterling or Euros. Street exchange
merchants should be avoided as they are operating illegally. Banks
open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm and on the first and last
Saturday of the month. Banks and bureaux de change at the
international airport stay open 24 hours. Credit Cards (American
Express, Visa and MasterCard) are accepted in the larger hotels and
stores, and some camps and lodges. ATMs are widely available in
Nairobi and the major towns.
Opening Times