The Mara Triangle is the southwestern part of the

Maasai Mara Maasai Mara, sometimes also spelt Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, th ...

National Reserve,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and is managed by the not-for-profit organisation The Mara Conservancy on behalf of Trans-Mara County Council. Divided from the rest of the

National Reserve by the

Mara River The Mara River is a river that begins in Narok County in Kenya and ends in Mara Region in Tanzania. It lies across the migration path of ungulates in the Maasai Mara/Serengeti National Park, Serengeti ecosystem. The River's flow The Mara Rive ...

, the Mara Triangle is less visited and less crowded, with a fairly good concentration of wildlife all year-round including the Big Five (

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

, buffalo and

rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

) and diverse plains 'game' such as

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , ,), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed ...

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Kobus (antelope), Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first Scientific description, described by Irish naturalist Will ...

and many other species. The Mara Triangle is one of the areas where herds of the Great Migration enter and exit the Maasai Mara National Reserve from the

Serengeti National Park The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located in eastern Mara Region and northeastern Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in 1940. The Se ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, making it one of the prime viewing locations for this wildlife spectacle. Crossings of the

are world-renowned for being particularly dramatic, featuring in many wildlife documentaries such as Wild Africa and Big Cat Diary.

Geography

The Mara Triangle is one third of th
Maasai Mara
National Reserve, with an area of 510 km². It has two natural borders and one political; to the southwest is the

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game r ...

border, to the east is the

, and to the northwest is the Oldoinyio Escarpment (also called Oloololo or Siria Escarpment). The landscapes of the Mara Triangle include riverine forest, red oat grasslands, volcanic hills and the 400-metre high Oloololo Escarpment.

Tourism

The Mara Triangle is managed by the Mara Conservancy, under contract by the Trans-Mara county council, a local non profit organisation formed by the local Maasai people, and contains a number of anti-poaching units. There are two permanent lodges inside the Mara Triangle - Mara Serena and Little Governors. There are a few camps on the park's periphery which offer game drives inside the park: Angama Mara, Bateleur Camp, Kichwa Tembo
Kilima CampMara Engai Wilderness LodgeMara Siria Tented Camp & Cottages
and Mpata Safari Club. It is also possible to take your own camping gear and stay at one of th
public or private campsites
and a number of seasonal mobile camps are set up to coincide with the arrival of the megaherds of the Great Migration each year. The Mara Triangle is easy to access by plane with Angama Mara Airfield, Kichwa Tembo, Mara North, Musiara and Serena airstrips, and with daily scheduled flights connecting it with other parks and reserves in Kenya, the Kenyan coast (Mombasa, Diani, Malindi) and Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta and Wilson airports). The Mara Triangle is also reachable by road.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Mara Triangle – Official website for The Mara Conservancy

Mara Triangle visitor map

Pictures taken in the Masai Mara

Conservation fees in the Mara Triangle
Narok County Parks in Kenya