About The Great Wildebeest Migration
The Great Wildebeest Migration (or Serengeti Wildebeest Migration) is the movement of more than 1 million animals migrates from Serengeti National Park to Maasai Mara Game Reserve. In this natural and truly a wonder of the natural world, wildebeests are accompanied by thousands of zebras and other ungulates chasing the greener pastures.
Parks covered by Migration
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
In the early stages of Migration when the herds are in Calving, they usually cape alongside the Ndutu area which is Northern Ngorongoro but in the Southern parts of Serengeti.
Once the calving season is over and the calves have already fed on the nutrients of the Ndutu area grass, a move to Central Serengeti is imminent.
Serengeti National Park
The most part of Serengeti Wildebeest Migration is in Serengeti, both Central and North
Masai Mara Game reserve
After crossing the Mara River around August all the way to late October (sometimes the crossing goes all the way to early November) they’ll stay in Masai Mara Game reserve before coming back to Serengeti as they’re needed in South Serengeti for Calving in February.
Countries Covered By Migration
The Great Wildebeest Migration occurs between two East African Countries, Tanzania, and Kenya. The migration moves from Serengeti National Park which is in Tanzania to Maasai Mara which is in Kenya. These two parks have bordered together between these two countries.
When is the best time to Visit Serengeti Wildebeest Migration?
Generally, you can see the Great migration almost the whole year. In fact, these wild animals use the circular movement is migrating around Serengeti for the full year so it will only depend on what event you’d like to experience in the migration.
December to March
After coming back from Masai Mara, it is within this period when calving starts. During these moments, wildebeests and their colleagues are found in the Southern Serengeti on the upper parts of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the place they consider the best for calving season.
In the Southern Serengeti, there are shorter grasses which makes it an ideal place to give birth as the openness of the plains makes it easier for the herds to see the predators.
If you are interested to see Serengeti Wildebeest Migration in Calving Season, this time could your best time to visit.
April and May
This is the period when some of the wildebeests and other migrating animals start to move from Southern Serengeti towards other parts of Serengeti.
Since Ndutu has resident cats, in the April cats viewing becomes another excellent experience in the Southern Serengeti. Along with the previous months of March and February, this zone of Serengeti National Park offers an amazing live predatory action.
From May, most of the herds will go on and continue their mission to reach North Serengeti, however, this is the best time to experience the migration at the central Serengeti.
Wildlife viewing is fantastic during these two months around the Seronera area in Central Serengeti.
June and July
As you can tell, the gestation period for the wildebeests is roughly 9 months. For them to give birth in February, this is their time for mating and you can find this happening at a very large number.
As the rainfalls start to cool, these two months are the best to experience the herds spreading across all the Central Serengeti and Serengeti Western corridor.
Cat life is also at its best here as the Seronera River usually attracts enough prey which is always a good thing to the cats.
Again, during June and July, as some of the herds tend to head to the Western Serengeti, you may be rewarded by the small crossings of the Grumeti River as the herds leave the park to enter the Singita Game reserve.
In July, there is no better place to be than the Kogatende area. While it’s fair to say that during this period herds can be seen anywhere around Central, West, and Eastern Serengeti.
August, September to October
With fewer rains, these months are when the herds cross the Mara River almost daily and in a very huge spectacular group.
Kogatende area is again the best place to be during these months as it gives you the best opportunity to see the herds crossing in crocodiles infested Mara River while the big cats monitoring the situation closely in sidelines, waiting for a proper prey.
While there have been a lot of theories about the river crossings, but the truth is this is not something that can be explained logically. Wildebeests and other migrating animals know naturally what to do and at what time.
If they sense that the rainfall is about to start on the next side of the river, they are likely to cross. A few days later or even just a matter of hours after crossing the river, these herds may decide to cross back depending on how they read the weather.
November
This is the time when the herds start to herd south as they are needed to be at the right place for the calving, come early February.
During November, you may still be lucky to see some crossings, depending on the year.
In 2019 for example, the magnificent crossings were somehow experienced all the way up until the mid of November.
Note:
There is no rule of thumb for the wildebeest’s migration, what we know at the moment is that the rains are the main determinant. There might be the other reasons that the wildebeests know themselves but really, this natural event is worth tracking and I would advise if you need to explore it at its fullness, find a way to visit when you have a no a very pressing timetable.
Recommended Wildebeest Migration Tours
Great Migration Mara River
Price: US$3,718 per person
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Destinations: Arusha, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Tarangire
Great Migration Grumeti River
Price: US$2,915 per person
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Great Migration & Beach Holiday
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Customers Reviews
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We had an amazing experience. Here are our highlights:-Deo was very responsive on whatsapp before our trip and helped create a perfect itinerary with his local knowledge
-we had to send a wire transfer beforehand and had no issues with this
-most impt part of trip is your guide and our guide Gilbert was the best. Other travellers on other safaris even acknowledged their guides were telling them gilbert is the best. Since earthlife is smaller the quality of their guides is better than the bigger companies
-accommodations at the tanzania bush camps were greatOverall no complaints, thank you Deo and Gilbert!
By Jaydeep MIn June, 2019, my wife, my son, and his 13 year old son began planning a trip to Tanzania including a safari that we arranged through Earthlife Expeditions. We began planning months in advance and during the planning process there were many changes we requested in our itinerary. Caudence was patient and accommodating through all these changes and terrific to work with. Our experienced guide/drive, Moison, was knowledgeable and articulate during our safari and was especially great with the 13 year old boy. The lodges we stayed in were wonderful…beautiful. At the end of our trip to Tanzania, we ran into problems with our airline and, again, Caudence and the entire staff stepped up and saw us through the problem. I would heartily recommend this organization.
By Marc TDon’t hesitate to schedule your safari trip with Earthlife Expeditions. From the very first contact, Caudence was very patient and worked with us to address our needs and select right accommodations. The whole trip went very smooth and our guide, Abu, made our journey very special. A safari guide can make or break your trip. Abu knows a lot about all animals, their behavior and habits, and he made sure we saw as many animals as it was possible. He would spot a lion on the tree that other guides could have missed… He was also an excellent driver and the car was sparkling clean every morning. This is an excellent, honest, and ethical company that I highly recommend for your Tanzania safari trip.
By AlexI went with a group of 4 to celebrate my mother’s 60th birthday. We had a wonderful experience with Earthlife Expeditions!!
To book the trip, I reached out to 5+ agencies in the area, and Caudence from Earthlife was the most responsive and helpful. She was flexible in our travel arrangements and was able allow us to see everything in a short period of time. She was also very helpful in providing different ways to flex on price and have options to upgrade/save some money. In general, felt the booking process was very straightforward, honest, and informative.
For the actual safari, our guide was Jeff, and he was AWESOME! Very knowledgeable about the history, geography, and animals in the region. Also, just amazing at spotting animals and getting us positioned to take great photos – he has the craziest eagle eyes and can see a tiny spec of an animal that is half a mile away. He is able to crack jokes to keep everyone laughing and then also know when we’re all tired and give us some time to nap and quietly appreciate the nature. He went out of a way to give us a WOW experience, even arranging a last minute birthday cake in the bush for my mother, something that she will never forget.
I would 100% recommend Earthlife and Jeff! We went in August for the Great Migration, but will have to go back for the calving season in February, which is supposed to have more “action”, if you were debating the two!
By GlobalroamerWe were a couple and we booked our trip with Earthlife Expeditions from July 25 to August 6, 2019. From the first contact, Angel was very friendly and worked with us to find the itinerary that would meet our expectations. We also worked together to select the best accommodations. Deo J. Haule, the Managing Director, was always present and helpful.
We met Joseph, our guide/driver in Arusha. He went with us to Tarangire National Park, Central and North Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Joseph was exceptional! His vision is amazing and he is able to identify animals from kilometers away. He has a long experience in safaris and his knowledge of the African flora and fauna is great. Sometimes, he used his traditional Masaai dress.
We were able to see over than 60 lions, over than 20 cheetahs, 5 leopards, many, many others animals like elephants, gnus, zebras, giraffes, impalas, hyenas, and so one… plus many different birds.
The highlight was the great migration we saw twice!! Unbelievable!
We had a perfect and magical experience thanks to Earthlife Expeditions.
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Herman, our guide, was knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and the animals. He was flexible and revised our plans at our request. He was interesting to talk with, easy going, respectful and delivered beyond our expectation.
By Terry M RomleyDon’t hesitate to schedule your safari trip with Earthlife Expeditions. From the very first contact, Caudence was very patient and worked with us to address our needs and select right accommodations. The whole trip went very smooth and our guide, Abu, made our journey very special. A safari guide can make or break your trip. Abu knows a lot about all animals, their behavior and habits, and he made sure we saw as many animals as it was possible. He would spot a lion on the tree that other guides could have missed… He was also an excellent driver and the car was sparkling clean every morning. This is an excellent, honest, and ethical company that I highly recommend for your Tanzania safari trip.
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We spoke with Herman after a recommendation from my friend Adi.
I told Herman that I have 5 days only for this trip.
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We stoped at the supermarket to buy some things for the way, than started our trip.
All rides was pretty long but was very fun and interesting with Herman explanations about everything.We went to Serengeti park, we hat great time there and got amazing photos thanks to Herman patients.
In car there are few bags to put on open roof for the lens safety and stabilisation.
Few days after we been in Ngorongoro for last day and back to airport.
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Thank you!
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By Nancy L
