The wildebeest migration never stops, so the honest answer to “where is the Great Migration now?” has a date on it. This page lists reports from our guides and team in the Maasai Mara, each with the day the herds were seen, and shows where the herds usually are in every month of the year.
No field report has been published yet.
This page fills as our team reports from the Maasai Mara, and we never show a sighting that was not made. Until the first report appears, use the month-by-month table below for where the herds usually are.
This table shows the usual pattern, not a report. Rain and grass decide where the herds are in any given year, so the timing can move by weeks. Each month links to a guide with the detail.
| Month | Where the herds usually are | Mara River crossings |
|---|---|---|
| January | Southern Serengeti plains around Ndutu; calving starts late in the month | No |
| February | Southern Serengeti and Ndutu; calving usually peaks | No |
| March | Southern Serengeti plains around Ndutu and Kakesio | No |
| April | Leaving the south for the central Serengeti around Moru Kopjes and Seronera | No |
| May | Central Serengeti, pushing west towards the Grumeti River | Grumeti only, from late May |
| June | Western Corridor and the Grumeti River; some herds move north | Grumeti; first Mara crossings possible in an early year |
| July | Northern Serengeti around Kogatende; the Maasai Mara begins to fill | First Mara River crossings, likelier late in the month |
| August | Across the Maasai Mara and the northern Serengeti | Likeliest from mid-month |
| September | Across the Maasai Mara and the northern Serengeti | Likely until mid-month |
| October | Drifting south out of the Mara | Possible, often southbound |
| November | Moving south along the eastern Serengeti | A few, early in the month |
| December | Mostly on the southern plains | No |
For a full year in one place, read the Great Migration by month, or start with how the Great Migration works.
A report is a snapshot: one place, one day. The herds are not one block but many columns spread over the plains, so a report from the central Maasai Mara says little about the Mara Triangle or the Sand River on the same day. “No crossing seen” means our guide did not see one at that place, not that none happened elsewhere.
We do not use satellite or GPS tracking here. Each entry comes from a person who saw the herds, which is why it carries a date and a place. Crossings are never guaranteed, because a herd can gather at a bank, mill and turn away for days. For the odds, read our guide to Mara River crossing points.
If the herds are in the Mara, or are about to be, these are the quickest ways to be there. Camps beside the river fill first, so ask early.
