Map of Kenya › Maasai Mara

Map of the Maasai Mara: Reserve, Conservancies, Gates and Airstrips

The Maasai Mara is not one block of land, and that is the single most useful thing a good Maasai Mara map can show you. The reserve, the Mara Triangle and the private conservancies to the north are separate areas with different rules, different crowds and different prices. This map draws each one as its real shape, with the gates and airstrips marked, so you can see exactly where a lodge sits before you book it.

Interactive map of the Maasai Mara

Gold is the national reserve, terracotta shapes are the conservancies, and the green block across the Sand River is Tanzania’s Serengeti, the same ecosystem with a different name. Blue pins are airstrips; dark pins are the main gates. Tap any shape for the details.

How the Mara is laid out, and why it changes your safari

The reserve itself covers 1,510 km² and is run by Narok County. Anyone with a park ticket can drive there, which is why the eastern side around Talek and Sekenani gets busy in August. The Mara Triangle is the third of the reserve west of the Mara River, managed separately, with fewer vehicles and famously good roads.

North of the reserve boundary sit the private conservancies: Mara North, Naboisho, Olare Motorogi and their neighbours. They lease land from Maasai families, cap the number of guest beds, and only lodge guests can game-drive there. You pay more per night and get sightings with two or three vehicles instead of twenty. The wildlife does not read the boundary signs; it moves freely across all of it.

Gates and airstrips

Five gates matter for most trips. Sekenani is the main entrance off the Narok road and the one most drives use. Talek serves the central camps, Musiara the marsh area of Big Cat Diary fame, and Oloololo the Triangle from the northwest. If you fly from Wilson Airport, you will land on one of the airstrips marked in blue; each camp quotes its nearest strip, and the map shows how close they really are.

Driving up? The full route is broken down on our Nairobi to Maasai Mara page, and the Map of Kenya shows how the Mara connects to everything else.

When to come

The migration usually holds in the Mara from late July to October, with river crossings the big draw. January and February are dry, green and far quieter, and the resident game (the big cats especially) is here all twelve months. Honest advice: if crossings are the goal, build in at least three nights; a single day at the river is a coin toss.

Maasai Mara map questions

How big is the Maasai Mara?

The national reserve covers 1,510 km2. Add the private conservancies along its northern edge and the wider Mara ecosystem roughly doubles, which is why lodges 20 km from the reserve gate still count as the Mara.

What is the difference between the reserve and the conservancies?

The reserve is public: any visitor with a ticket can drive in. The conservancies are leased from Maasai landowners and open only to guests of their member camps, so vehicle numbers stay very low.

What is the Mara Triangle?

The western third of the reserve, across the Mara River, managed by the non-profit Mara Conservancy. Same ticket, noticeably quieter, and it overlooks several of the famous crossing points.

Which gate should I use?

Sekenani for most road safaris from Nairobi, Oloololo for the Triangle, Talek or Musiara if your camp sits along those rivers. Your driver will know; check which gate your lodge quotes in its directions.

Park and reserve boundaries © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under ODbL. Basemap © OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Satellite imagery © Esri. Terrain tiles by Mapzen and AWS Open Data.