Northern Serengeti
Grand Northern Safari
The complete northern circuit including the Kogatende sector, where the wildebeest cross the Mara River between July and October.
From$2,960
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It is a loop, not an event
The migration is a roughly 1,000 km clockwise circuit driven by rain and grass. Because it is driven by weather, it is not a timetable - think of the month-by-month list below as "where they usually are", not a guarantee.
We plan routes around the historic pattern and then let the guide follow the herds day by day.
December to March: southern Serengeti and Ndutu
The herds arrive on the short-grass plains to calve. February is the peak: hundreds of thousands of calves in a few weeks, and lion, cheetah and hyena working the edges of the herds.
Best camps: Ndutu and southern Serengeti mobile camps. Best itinerary: our 7-day calving safari.
April and May: the great move west
As the plains dry, the herds drift north-west through the Serengeti's western corridor towards the Grumeti River. This is a quieter, greener, cheaper season, and the Grumeti crossings are genuinely dramatic.
June: the western corridor
The herds mass near the Grumeti and Ikorongo reserves. Central Serengeti is excellent now: resident lion and leopard, few vehicles, and long, clear days.
July to October: northern Serengeti and the Mara River
The famous crossings. The herds pile up on the northern banks, cross into Kenya's Maasai Mara and back again, driven by grass and instinct. August is the statistical peak, but decent crossings happen from mid-July to early October.
The practical point: stay in the northern Serengeti (Kogatende or Lamai) for at least two nights, not in the central park, or you will spend your day driving. That is exactly how our Grand Northern Safari is built.
November: the return south
The short rains pull the herds back through the central and eastern Serengeti. The parks empty out, prices fall, and the light after a storm is the best of the year.
Frequently asked
Only if you fly into the northern Serengeti. From Arusha it is a two-day drive each way, so a three-day trip from town cannot reach the crossing points.
Guides report crossings on maybe one day in three during peak season. Two or three nights in the north raises your odds substantially.
No. The herds spend most of the year in Tanzania and the Mara River crossings can be watched from the Tanzanian side.
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