Following the Great Migration through the year

2026-04-30 · Wildlife

Where the herds are in any given month, and where you should be.

It is a loop, not an event

Close to two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle move in a broad clockwise circuit through the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara, driven by rainfall. They are somewhere in the ecosystem every day of the year — the question is only where.

December to March — the southern plains

The herds spread across the short-grass plains around Ndutu. Calving peaks in February, and with it the most concentrated predator activity of the year.

April to June — moving west and north

The columns form and move through the western corridor. The Grumeti River crossings are smaller than the Mara's but far less crowded.

July to October — the Mara River

The crossings everyone pictures. Herds gather on the banks, sometimes for days, then go all at once. Unpredictable by nature: being there for a week gives you a good chance, being there for a day does not.

November — turning south

The short rains bring the herds back down through the eastern Serengeti towards the calving grounds, and the cycle starts again.