RamaniMasai Mara, Kenya, on the map
Where is Masai Mara? In southwestern Kenya
Where is Masai Mara? Masai Mara, Kenya, lies in Narok County in the southwest of the country, where the Maasai Mara National Reserve meets the Serengeti in Tanzania to the south. It is a national reserve, not a national park. From Nairobi, the drive takes about 5 to 6 hours by road, as Mara North Conservancy states. The scheduled flight from Wilson Airport takes about 45 minutes, as AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state.
Photo: Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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So the question that shapes your trip is where you land. The scheduled Mara flights in the airlines' 2026 timetables leave from Wilson Airport, not from the international airport, JKIA (AirKenya states it has no scheduled flights from JKIA). From JKIA you cross Nairobi to Wilson first, or you take the road west through Narok. The locator below shows both, with the times the airlines and the conservancies give. For the full transfer day, from landing to the first game drive, see Nairobi to Masai Mara.
If you would rather combine the Mara with a second park, a four-day Kenya safari to the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru is one example; ask whether it goes by road or flies.
RamaniThe locator
How far the Mara is from where you land
Pick where you land and how you go on. The drawing places every point from map coordinates: Nairobi and its two airports, Narok, the reserve, the Serengeti, and two other parks you may combine it with. The road line runs town to town; the flight arcs are schematic; the thin dashed line is a straight line for scale, not a route. The Masai Mara map zooms into the reserve itself, with its gates, airstrips and camps.
- Nairobi to Narok: about 2 to 2.5 hours by road, as Mara North Conservancy states
- Narok to Sekenani Gate, road B131: about 82 km (51 mi) by road
- Wilson to the Mara by scheduled flight: about 45 minutes, as AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state
- For scale: about 195 km (121 mi) in a straight line, Nairobi city center to the reserve's center point
- For scale: about 115 km (71 mi) in a straight line, the reserve's center point to Serengeti National Park's center point
- By road, drawn town to town (not the road's own line)
- By scheduled flight from Wilson, drawn schematic, one arc per airline
- In a straight line, between map center points: for scale, never a route
- Kenya-Tanzania border
- Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the Mara River
Country outlines and Lake Victoria: Natural Earth (public domain). Reserve outline, river and points © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). KE Kenya, TZ Tanzania. Not for navigation; the Masai Mara map has the gates, airstrips and camps.
From where you land
From Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), by scheduled flight
- JKIA to Wilson Airport, as Safarilink states
- about 25 minutes by road
- JKIA to Wilson at rush hour, as Safarilink advises
- at least 1 hour by road in the morning and evening rush hours
- Where the Mara flights leave from
- AirKenya flies only from its terminal at Wilson and has no scheduled flights from JKIA
- Wilson to the Mara, the flight time AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state
- about 45 minutes
- Wilson to the first Mara airstrip in the 2026 timetables of four airlines
- 30 minutes to 1 hour by scheduled flight
- Safarilink departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15, 10:00 and 14:15
- AirKenya departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:30, 10:30 and 14:15
- Governors' Aviation departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15 (15 June to 31 October), 9:30 and 14:30
- For scale only, not a route
- about 205 km in a straight line, JKIA to the reserve's center point
From Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), by road
- JKIA to Wilson at rush hour, as Safarilink advises
- at least 1 hour by road in the morning and evening rush hours
- Nairobi to the Mara, as Mara North Conservancy states
- about 5 to 6 hours by road
- Nairobi to Narok town, the first leg
- about 2 to 2.5 hours by road
- Narok to Sekenani Gate on road B131
- about 82 km (51 mi) by road
- Nairobi to Mara Siana Conservancy, as the conservancy states
- about 3 to 4 hours by road
- For scale only, not a route
- about 205 km in a straight line, JKIA to the reserve's center point
From Wilson Airport, by scheduled flight
- Wilson to the Mara, the flight time AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state
- about 45 minutes
- Wilson to the first Mara airstrip in the 2026 timetables of four airlines
- 30 minutes to 1 hour by scheduled flight
- Safarilink departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15, 10:00 and 14:15
- AirKenya departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:30, 10:30 and 14:15
- Governors' Aviation departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15 (15 June to 31 October), 9:30 and 14:30
- For scale only, not a route
- about 195 km in a straight line, Wilson Airport to the reserve's center point
From Wilson Airport, by road
- Nairobi to the Mara, as Mara North Conservancy states
- about 5 to 6 hours by road
- Nairobi to Narok town, the first leg
- about 2 to 2.5 hours by road
- Narok to Sekenani Gate on road B131
- about 82 km (51 mi) by road
- Nairobi to Mara Siana Conservancy, as the conservancy states
- about 3 to 4 hours by road
- For scale only, not a route
- about 195 km in a straight line, Wilson Airport to the reserve's center point
From Nairobi city center, by scheduled flight
- City center to Wilson Airport, as AirKenya states
- about 15 minutes by road
- Wilson to the Mara, the flight time AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state
- about 45 minutes
- Wilson to the first Mara airstrip in the 2026 timetables of four airlines
- 30 minutes to 1 hour by scheduled flight
- Safarilink departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15, 10:00 and 14:15
- AirKenya departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:30, 10:30 and 14:15
- Governors' Aviation departures from Wilson, 2026 timetable
- 7:15 (15 June to 31 October), 9:30 and 14:30
- For scale only, not a route
- about 195 km in a straight line, Nairobi city center to the reserve's center point
From Nairobi city center, by road
- Nairobi to the Mara, as Mara North Conservancy states
- about 5 to 6 hours by road
- Nairobi to Narok town, the first leg
- about 2 to 2.5 hours by road
- Narok to Sekenani Gate on road B131
- about 82 km (51 mi) by road
- Nairobi to Mara Siana Conservancy, as the conservancy states
- about 3 to 4 hours by road
- For scale only, not a route
- about 195 km in a straight line, Nairobi city center to the reserve's center point
- Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, wider boundary 40,000 km² (15,444 sq mi) (Veldhuis et al. 2019)
- Serengeti-Mara ecosystem 30,000 km² (11,583 sq mi) (Tanzania National Parks)
- Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, narrower boundary 25,000 km² (9,653 sq mi) (Thirgood et al. 2004)
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 14,763 km² (5,700 sq mi) (Tanzania National Parks)
- Maasai Mara National Reserve 1,510 km² (583 sq mi) (Government of Kenya, UNESCO tentative-list entry 2023)
- Mara Triangle, the reserve west of the Mara River 510 km² (197 sq mi) (Mara Conservancy)
Serengeti National Park covers about 10 times the reserve's area, the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in Tanzania National Parks' figure about 20 times. The three ecosystem squares differ because each body draws the ecosystem's edge in a different place.
BarabaraThe road from Nairobi
By road: Nairobi, Narok, then Sekenani Gate
about 5 to 6 hoursNairobi to the Mara, as Mara North Conservancy states
about 2 to 2.5 hoursNairobi to Narok, the first leg
about 82 km (51 mi) by roadNarok to Sekenani Gate on road B131
45 km by roadDuka Moja to Narok, paved
The road leaves Nairobi to the northwest and drops into the Rift Valley. At Duka Moja the road to Narok turns off: a paved single carriageway of 45 km by road, as the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) describes it. Narok is the last town of any size, and the place to fill up and buy what you forgot. Mara North Conservancy puts the drive from Nairobi to Narok at about 2 to 2.5 hours by road.
From Narok, road B131 runs to Sekenani Gate, the reserve's main gate on the east side: a single carriageway of about 82 km by road in two sections, Narok to Ngoswani and Ngoswani to Sekenani Gate; KeNHA calls the Ngoswani to Sekenani Gate section paved. Inside the reserve the roads are unpaved, and the drive on to your camp depends on where it sits.
The conservancies give the trip to their own land: Mara North puts the whole drive at about 5 to 6 hours by road, and Mara Siana Conservancy, east of the reserve, at about 3 to 4 hours by road for about 240 km by road. For a camp near Talek or Musiara, ask the camp or your operator how long the leg from Sekenani Gate takes.
The Mara Triangle, west of the Mara River, has its own approaches. The Mara Conservancy names three: through Sekenani and Keekorok to Purungat Bridge, through Aitong and Mara North Conservancy to Oloololo Gate, and from Kisii through Kilgoris and down the Siria escarpment to Oloololo Gate. Inside the Triangle, Oloololo Gate to Purungat Bridge takes a little over 1 hour by road at 50 km/h on the Triangle main road, as the Mara Conservancy states. The Mara Triangle guide covers that side.
The same road network, other parks
Kenya Wildlife Service gives these road distances from Nairobi, for scale against the Mara.
- Amboseli, Iremito Gate, via Emali 204 km (127 mi) by road
- Amboseli, Meshanani Gate, via Namanga 220 km (137 mi) by road
- Lake Nakuru National Park, on the A104 156 km (97 mi) by road
A Kenya safari itinerary page shows how to fit one of these parks around the Mara.
Photo: Ninara / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
LangoSekenani Gate, east side of the reserve
Most drives from Nairobi end here, at the reserve's eastern gate.
NdegeScheduled flights
By air: from Wilson Airport, not from JKIA
about 45 minutesWilson to the Mara by scheduled flight, the time AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state
30 minutes to 1 hourWilson to the first Mara airstrip by scheduled flight, 2026 timetables of four airlines
Scheduled light aircraft fly to the Mara from Wilson Airport, Nairobi's domestic airport. Wilson is about 15 minutes from the city center, as AirKenya states. The flights hop between several Mara airstrips, so the time on board depends on where you get off. The airlines' 2026 timetables give these departures from Wilson:
- Safarilink: 7:15, 10:00 and 14:15; times and airstrips vary daily with the aircraft routing.
- AirKenya: 7:30, 10:30 and 14:15; times are to or from the first Mara airstrip and vary with the routing over several airstrips.
- Governors' Aviation: 7:15 (15 June to 31 October), 9:30 and 14:30; at most two stops on the early flight (15 June to 31 October).
- Mombasa Air Safari: 10:00 and 14:15; times approximate; reconfirm 24 hours before.
If you land at JKIA on an international flight, the Mara flights are not there. AirKenya flies only from its terminal at Wilson and has no scheduled flights from JKIA. Safarilink puts the drive from JKIA to Wilson at about 25 minutes by road and advises at least 1 hour by road in the morning and evening rush hours. Your camp tells you which airstrip to book; the map of the airstrips shows where each one sits, and Nairobi to Masai Mara flights compares the airlines.
Two other scheduled links reach the Mara without Nairobi. Mombasa Air Safari flies from the coast (Mombasa, Diani and Malindi) in 3 hours by scheduled flight, and from Amboseli in 1 hour 15 minutes by scheduled flight, both on its 2026 timetable with approximate times.
MpakaKenya and Tanzania
On the border: the Serengeti next door
The reserve's southern edge is the Kenya-Tanzania border, and the Serengeti in Tanzania continues on the other side. The Mara Conservancy describes the Mara Triangle as bounded by the Oloololo Escarpment, the Mara River and the international boundary. On the Tanzanian side, the gates nearest the Mara are Klein's Gate and Tabora B Gate, both drawn on the locator.
The two parks are one landscape for the animals, not for visitors. The Kenya Revenue Authority lists the Sand River gate, on the Masai Mara to Serengeti border, as a closed point of entry and exit. The one-stop border posts that work between the two countries are Sirari/Isebania, Namanga, Holili/Taveta and Horohoro/Lunga Lunga, as the Tanzania Revenue Authority lists them.
The quickest scheduled link goes by air with a border stop. AirKenya's 2026 timetable leaves the Mara at 8:05 and reaches Seronera at 12:30, by air to Migori, by road across the border with immigration, and by air again from Tarime. The Masai Mara or Serengeti comparison sets the two parks side by side by month.
-
Reserve to the Serengeti, for scale
about 115 km (71 mi) in a straight line, the reserve's center point to Serengeti National Park's center point.
-
14,763 km² (5,700 sq mi)
Serengeti National Park
As Tanzania National Parks gives it, about 10 times the reserve's area.
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755 km (469 mi)
Kenya's border with Tanzania
Its length, as the Kenya Revenue Authority gives it.
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Sand River gate
Listed as closed by the Kenya Revenue Authority. Sources: KRA border points, TRA one-stop border posts, AirKenya FAQ.
Photo: Laika ac / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Mto MaraThe Mara River, Mara Triangle
The Mara River splits the reserve: the Narok side to the east, the Mara Triangle to the west.
HifadhiWho runs the land you arrive in
Which Mara you arrive in: reserve, Triangle or conservancy
"The Mara" covers three kinds of land. The reserve is one protected area in Narok County with two parts; the conservancies around it are outside the reserve. Narok County has managed the whole reserve since 2013, and Kenya's 2023 UNESCO tentative-list entry describes two management sectors.
East of the river
The Narok side
Run by the County Government of Narok. Gates on this side include Sekenani, Oloolaimutia and Musiara; road B131 from Narok ends at Sekenani.
West of the river
The Mara Triangle
510 km² (197 sq mi)
About one third of the reserve, as the Mara Conservancy states. The Mara Conservancy has run it for the county since 12 June 2001. Oloololo Gate is its northern gate.
The conservancies lie on the reserve's north and east sides, on land owned by Maasai families who lease it for wildlife and tourism. The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association counts 25 conservancies in its Strategic Plan 2026-2036. Each has its own rules and fee, which you pay through your camp; the conservancies guide compares them.
Where you stay decides which gate you use and which ticket you buy. A camp inside the reserve or on its edge means reserve tickets for every day you drive there, valid 6:00 to 18:00 on the day; the entrance fee page counts them for your stay. The national reserve guide explains the two parts in detail, and where to stay weighs the areas against each other.
MudaSize, and how it took its shape
How big the reserve is, and how it took its shape
1,510 km² (583 sq mi)Maasai Mara National Reserve, Government of Kenya
14,763 km² (5,700 sq mi)Serengeti National Park, Tanzania National Parks
30,000 km² (11,583 sq mi)Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, Tanzania National Parks
Kenya's government gives the reserve 1,510 km²: established by Legal Notice 271 of 1974, within Boundary Plan 216/50 of the Survey of Kenya. The ecosystem it belongs to is far larger, and its size depends on where you draw the edge. Tanzania National Parks calls the Serengeti the heart of a Serengeti-Mara ecosystem spanning parts of Kenya and Tanzania, including the reserve. Two research papers draw it at 40,000 km² (Veldhuis et al. 2019) and 25,000 km² (Thirgood et al. 2004), with different boundaries.
The reserve began small. According to Narok County's reserve management plan, it was established in 1948 as a game reserve of 520 km² (201 sq mi) in what is now the Mara Triangle, extended to 1,831 km² in 1961 and reduced to its present size in 1984. Management was split between the Narok and Trans Mara county councils in 1994 (Mara Conservancy; the reserve's management plan gives 1995); the two councils later merged into the Narok County Government.
The two UNESCO tentative-list entries
The reserve is on Kenya's tentative list for World Heritage, twice, and inscribed in neither. The National Museums of Kenya submitted the game reserve as a natural site on 30 June 2023, region Narok County. The Kenya Wildlife Service submitted the Mara as part of the African Great Rift Valley, a mixed site, on 12 February 2010. Entries: UNESCO 6679, UNESCO 5512.
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MaswaliAbout the location
Questions about where the Mara is
Which country is the Masai Mara in?
Kenya. The Maasai Mara National Reserve lies in Narok County, in the southwest of the country, and Narok County manages it. Its southern edge is the border with Tanzania, where the Serengeti continues to the south. The Serengeti is in Tanzania; the two are neighbors with a border between them.
Can I fly to the Masai Mara from JKIA?
Not directly. AirKenya flies only from its terminal at Wilson and has no scheduled flights from JKIA, and the Nairobi flights to the Mara in the airlines' 2026 timetables leave from Wilson Airport. Safarilink puts the drive from JKIA to Wilson at about 25 minutes by road and advises at least 1 hour by road in the morning and evening rush hours. The other way is the road west through Narok, the whole way by car.
How far is the Masai Mara from Nairobi?
By road, Mara North Conservancy states the drive takes about 5 to 6 hours by road, with Narok reached after about 2 to 2.5 hours. By scheduled flight from Wilson Airport it is about 45 minutes, as AirKenya and Governors' Aviation state. In a straight line it is about 195 km in a straight line, Nairobi city center to the reserve's center point, which is no travel distance.
Can I reach the Masai Mara without going through Nairobi?
Yes, by scheduled flight. Mombasa Air Safari's 2026 timetable flies to the Mara from the coast, Mombasa, Diani and Malindi, in 3 hours by scheduled flight, and from Amboseli in 1 hour 15 minutes by scheduled flight, both with approximate times. By road every route runs through Narok; from the Serengeti in Tanzania there is no road across at Sand River, which the Kenya Revenue Authority lists as closed.
Is there a border crossing between the Masai Mara and the Serengeti?
Not inside the parks: the Kenya Revenue Authority lists the Sand River gate, on the Mara to Serengeti border, as closed. The working road posts are farther away, at Sirari/Isebania and Namanga among others. By air, AirKenya's 2026 timetable leaves the Mara at 8:05 and reaches Seronera at 12:30, through Migori and Tarime with immigration in between.
SafariThe next question
After where: when, how much and where to sleep
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When to go
Rain, heat and the herds change by month. The best time to visit page reads them month by month, and the Masai Mara weather page has the climate figures.
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What it costs
Park fees, flights or a road transfer and the camp add up quickly. The safari cost breakdown and the safari guide lay out the ways to go.
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Where to sleep
Inside the reserve, on its edge or in a conservancy: where to stay compares the areas, and Masai Mara hotels lists the camps.
Reserve outline: OpenStreetMap. Management: Narok County reserve management plan 2023 to 2032, Mara Conservancy history, Mara Conservancy, the Triangle, driving to the Triangle. Roads and drive times: KeNHA, Narok to Ngoswani, KeNHA, Ngoswani to Sekenani Gate, KWS Amboseli, KWS Lake Nakuru, Mara North Conservancy, Mara Siana Conservancy, KeNHA, Duka Moja to Narok. Flights: Safarilink FAQ, AirKenya FAQ. Areas: Tanzania National Parks, Veldhuis et al. 2019, MMWCA strategic plan 2026 to 2036.
Sources
- Travel times and distances. Drive times as stated by Mara North Conservancy, Mara Siana Conservancy, the Mara Conservancy, Safarilink and AirKenya; road distances from KeNHA, Narok County, Kenya Wildlife Service and Mara Siana Conservancy; flight times from the 2026 timetables of Safarilink, AirKenya, Governors' Aviation and Mombasa Air Safari
- Straight-line distances. Great-circle distance between two points of the site's place list (OpenStreetMap and Wikidata coordinates), rounded to 5 km; never a travel distance
- Areas side by side. Areas as the stating bodies give them: Government of Kenya (the reserve), Mara Conservancy (the Mara Triangle), Tanzania National Parks (Serengeti National Park and the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem), Veldhuis et al. 2019 and Thirgood et al. 2004 (the ecosystem by other boundaries)
- Unit conversions. Metric figures with US equivalents (1 km = 0.621371 mi, 1 m = 3.28084 ft, 1 kg = 2.20462 lb, 1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 acre = 0.404686 ha, °F = °C × 9/5 + 32)
- Figures where sources differ. One register row per figure where official sources conflict (data/canon.json names the row, the body and the reason)