Witness nature's greatest spectacle all year round
Your gateway to the Great Migration
Every year, vast columns of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles spill out over the sun-kissed Serengeti savannas, tracing an age-old path from the southern Serengeti in Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara — and back again.
The herds’ journey, vast in scale and fraught with danger, has captivated explorers, adventurers and wildlife enthusiasts for decades — and for good reason. From the edge-of-your-seat suspense of the river crossings to witnessing a newborn calf taking its first unsteady steps, experiencing the Great Migration for yourself on a Tanzanian migration safari is a bucket list moment.
A cycle of survival and renewal
1.5 million
Wildebeests, 200,000 zebras and 300,000 Thomson’s Gazelles undertake this grueling annual journey.
1,000
Miles traveled over the course of a year.
8,000
Births take place daily during calving season — around half a million in total.
200,000
Wildebeests die each migration cycle, whether from exhaustion, drowning or predation.
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Experience every stage of this remarkable journey
An endless cycle of birth, movement, and death, with no real beginning or end — the herds’ migration is the beating heart of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem; the steady rhythm of their hooves its pulse.
The herds’ clockwise circuit is guided by instinct and the promise of seasonal rains. While river crossings may fill our screens, every stage of this journey is filled with drama: from lion prides stalking stragglers in the south to the lesser-known yet no-less dangerous Grumeti River crossings.
Get unparalleled access to every stage of the Great Migration, no matter the season.
Charting the herds’ journey
Tracing the footsteps of the Great Migration
Their dramatic journey at a glance
The calving season
January to March
In the short grass plains of Ndutu and the southern Serengeti, approximately 8,000 newborn calves take their first unsteady steps every day during the calving season. Here, fertile soil, infused with ancient volcanic ash, gives rise to nutrient-rich grasses.
Almost all mothers give birth in a period of around three weeks. During this time, over 500,000 calves are born — while lions, cheetahs, leopards and hyenas feast.
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The rutting season
April to June
Darkening skies at the end of March herald the arrival of the long rains, triggering the herds’ journey northwest. This marks the start of the rutting season, where males clash as they compete for females, their aggressive grunts echoing across the plains. Reaching the western corridor, the herds will face their first great obstacle: crossing the Nile crocodile-infested Grumeti River.
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The Mara River crossings
July to October
The Great Migration's most famous chapter unfolds in the northern Serengeti. Here, the fast-flowing waters of the Mara River set the stage for the herds’ desperate dash to reach the rain-soaked plains of Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Rather than a single event, the river crossings take place over months, at a number of crossing points along the banks of the river — sometimes multiple times a day. Ebbing and flowing with the tide of megaherds as they journey north, crossings can mean thousands of thundering hooves charging the churning water, or a handful of stragglers hoping to avoid the jaws of the crocodiles that lie in wait.
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The journey south
November to December
Short rains summon the herds back to the Serengeti. To get there, they face the danger of the Mara River once more, crossing in waves as they flow south toward the calving grounds where the cycle begins anew.
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