The Masai Mara is considered by many to be one of Kenya's finest game reserves. The rolling grasslands offer ideal game viewing and photographic opportunities and the grassy plains are broken by rocky outcrops which are a favourite midday resting places for lion, for which the Mara is famous. Some of the other animals which can be seen in and around this 700 square mile conservation area include elephant, black rhino, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. Hippo and crocodile abound in the muddy brown waters of the rivers which traverse this reserve.

One of the Mara's main attractions each year is the astonishing spectacle of the annual migration of up to two million wildebeest, thousands of zebra and an escort of carnivores from the Serengeti plains, following the rains and the growth of succulent new grass - a costly trek as many of the lame, laggard and sick will fall prey to the ravening pack of predators and many more will die in the swirling flood waters trying to cross the Mara River. Once the rains have ended and the grass begins to wither the wildebeest turn south and head back to the Serengeti and beyond.

The reserve, with an area of 1510 km squared, forms the northern part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and is famous for vast assemblages and migration of plains game and their associated predators. The parks southern boundary is contiguous with Tanzania's Serengeti National park.

The Reserve is actually divided into different administrative areas –
• The larger being east of the Mara River which is managed by Narok County Council with its Head Office in Narok town.
• The western side of the Mara River up to the Olololo escarpment is commonly referred to as the Mara Triangle, and managed by Mara Conservancy and the management company contracted by the Trans Mara County Council based at Kilgoris. For further details on the Mara Conservancy browse the website, www.maratriangle.org.
• The Masai Mara North Conservancy and Great Plains was established in 2007 to unite the Masai landowners of Koiyaki and Lamek community ranches together with the hotel lodge and camp owners established on their land. This area covers approximately 32,000 hectares of the northern boundary of the Masai Mara National Reserve which is rich in wildlife and sites such as the famous leopard gorge.
• The surrounding Mara Game Reserve are a number of Masai Community Ranches which have recently made an agreement with private stakeholders to form the larger wildlife conservation areas, such as Masai Mara North Conservancy, and even individual conservancies within their group ranch such as Ol Kinyei Conservancy and Olare Orok Conservancy (approx 10,000 hectares).

There are more and more positive ‘coming together’ of different parties to form interest and available new conservation efforts.