Map of Kenya › Migration
Wildebeest Migration Route Map: What Happens Each Month
Close to 1.5 million wildebeest, along with several hundred thousand zebra and gazelle, follow a wide loop through the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara each year. This wildebeest migration map traces that loop so you can see roughly where the herds sit in any given month, and why the river crossings happen at the points they do. Treat the moving line as a rough guide rather than a schedule; rain dictates the herds’ movements, and no two years match exactly.
The migration route, animated
The gold line moves counterclockwise through a typical year: calving in the south starting in December, a long push northwest from April onward, Grumeti River crossings around June, Mara River crossings beginning in July, then the herds head back south in November. Each month label marks roughly where the herds tend to sit at that point in the cycle.
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You can still use the guide and tables below, or open the area on Google Maps.
Month by month: where the herds tend to be
| Months | Location | What’s happening |
|---|---|---|
| Dec – Mar | Ndutu and the southern Serengeti plains | Calving season: roughly 400,000 calves born within a few weeks, drawing every predator in the area |
| Apr – May | Central and western Serengeti | Herds move northwest in long lines through the long rains |
| Jun | Western Corridor | The first major obstacle: fording the crocodile-filled Grumeti River |
| Jul – Aug | Northern Serengeti and the Mara River | The well-known river crossings begin, and herds start moving into Kenya’s Maasai Mara |
| Sep – Oct | Maasai Mara grasslands | The herds settle in to graze the Mara, crossing back and forth as they go |
| Nov | Eastern Serengeti, heading south | The short rains draw the herds south again, back toward the calving grounds |
The river crossings, without the hype
Two rivers create most of the drama. The Grumeti, crossed around June, is the opening act, seen from the western Serengeti. The Mara River, running from July into October, is the one that shows up in every documentary: steep banks, sizeable crocodiles, and herds that can wait for hours before a single wildebeest commits to the jump. On the Kenyan side, the crossing points sit inside the Maasai Mara reserve and the Mara Triangle, both within easy reach of the camps featured on our Maasai Mara map.
No operator, us included, can guarantee a crossing on any given day. The herds move on their own schedule. Book three nights or more in August or September and your chances rise considerably.
Planning your trip around the migration
If your travel dates are fixed, choose your base using the table above. If your destination is fixed instead, say you’re doing a Kenya-only itinerary, aim for late July through October to catch the Mara at its best; the best time to visit Kenya map shows how that window lines up with every other park. And if February suits your schedule, calving season in the south is arguably the most overlooked highlight of the whole cycle.
Migration map questions
When do the herds arrive in the Maasai Mara?
In most years, the first large herds cross the Mara River in late July, and good numbers stay on through October. Rainfall really sets the calendar, so the exact dates shift from year to year.
Where exactly do the crossings take place?
The Grumeti River, in Tanzania’s Western Corridor, is crossed around June. The Mara River, straddling the Kenya-Tanzania border, is crossed from July through October. The most reliable Mara crossing points sit within the reserve itself and the Mara Triangle.
Does the migration happen in Kenya or Tanzania?
Both. The herds spend roughly August to October in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, then the rest of the year moving through Tanzania’s Serengeti. It is one ecosystem that happens to have a border running across it.
Can the migration be seen outside the July to October window?
Yes, wherever the herds happen to be on the loop, something is usually going on. Calving season on the southern Serengeti plains, from December to March, is just as striking and draws far fewer vehicles than crossing season does.
Follow the Herds with Guides Who Track Them Every Week
Our team checks crossing reports throughout the season and places guests where the herds are actually gathered, not where they happened to be last year. Tell us which month works for you and we will build the safari around it.
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