Usa River, Arusha · Tanzania
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The Experience
The Great Migration
1.5 million wildebeest on a year-round march across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem — the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, and how to be in the right place to see it.
The spectacle
The largest movement of land animals on earth — a permanent cycle, always moving, always somewhere.
The Great Migration is the largest movement of land animals on the planet — a continuous, year-round journey of roughly 1.5 million wildebeest, several hundred thousand zebra, and hundreds of thousands of Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, moving in a great clockwise loop through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in search of fresh grazing and water. It is not a single event with a start and a finish; it is a permanent cycle, driven by the rains, that has turned across these plains for over a million years.
The most important thing to understand about the migration is that it is always happening, and always somewhere. The herds are never absent from the ecosystem — but where they are changes month by month, and that is what determines when and where you should travel. There is no single "migration season." Instead there are distinct phases — calving, the western trek, the northern river crossings, the return south — each spectacular in its own way, each in a different part of the Serengeti. Planning a migration safari means matching the timing of your trip to the phase you most want to see.
Migration band - marching column - 2400x1350
The herds are never absent from the Serengeti — but where they are changes month by month.
The timing
Month by month.
There is no single migration season — only phases, each in a different part of the Serengeti. Here is where the herds are through the year, so you can match your safari to what you most want to see.
Calving & the southern plains
The trek north & west
River-crossing season
JANJanuary
Southern plains — Ndutu
The herds are massed on the southern short-grass plains around Ndutu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, fattening on mineral-rich new grass before calving. Predator action is already building.
FEBFebruary
Calving season — Ndutu
The peak of calving: around 500,000 wildebeest calves are born in a roughly three-week window. The concentration of newborns draws lions, cheetah and hyena into the open. The single best time for predator action.
MARMarch
Southern plains, moving
Calving winds down and the herds begin to drift north-west as the short-grass plains dry out. Huge concentrations still on the southern plains early in the month.
APRApril
Moving north-west
The long rains arrive and the herds move steadily through the central Serengeti toward the Western Corridor. Green, dramatic, and very quiet — the low season.
MAYMay
Western Corridor
The columns push into the Western Corridor, often forming the famous long marching lines. The Grumeti River and its resident crocodiles present the first water obstacle. Rutting season begins.
JUNJune
Western Corridor & Grumeti
The herds concentrate around the Grumeti River. The first river crossings of the year can occur here. The dry season begins — a superb, less-crowded time to travel.
JULJuly
Moving to the north
The herds press north toward the Mara River and the Kenyan border. The great northern crossings begin. Peak season starts.
AUGAugust
Northern Serengeti — Mara River
Prime river-crossing season. The herds mass on the banks of the Mara River and plunge across crocodile-filled water in the migration’s most dramatic scenes. Busy and spectacular.
SEPSeptember
Northern Serengeti & Maasai Mara
Crossings continue back and forth across the Mara River as the herds move between the northern Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara. The classic crossing months.
OCTOctober
Northern Serengeti, turning south
The last of the major crossings. As the short rains approach, the herds begin the long journey back south. Still excellent in the north early in the month.
NOVNovember
Moving south
The short rains draw the herds south again through the central and eastern Serengeti toward the calving grounds. A quiet, green, rewarding time to travel.
DECDecember
Returning to the southern plains
The herds arrive back on the southern short-grass plains around Ndutu, and the cycle begins again. Fresh grass, gathering herds, and the build-up to calving.
Movements shift year to year with the rains — this is the typical pattern, not a fixed schedule.
The drama
The river crossings.
If the migration has a single defining image, it is the river crossing: thousands of wildebeest massed on a riverbank, hesitating, building, until one animal plunges in and the whole herd follows in a churning torrent of hooves and water, while giant Nile crocodiles wait below and predators patrol the far bank. It is one of the most dramatic wildlife events on earth, and for many travellers it is the whole reason to come.
The crossings happen mainly on two rivers. The Grumeti River, in the Western Corridor, sees the year's first crossings around May and June — smaller and less predictable, but far less crowded. The main event is the Mara River, in the northern Serengeti and across the border in Kenya's Maasai Mara, from around July to October. Here the herds cross and re-cross repeatedly through the season, driven by grazing and rain, and a single stretch of river can see multiple crossings in a matter of days.
The crucial thing to know is that crossings cannot be scheduled. The animals cross when they are ready — it may be early morning or late afternoon, and a herd can wait on the bank for hours or days before committing. Seeing a crossing takes time in the right place and a measure of luck. This is why serious migration operators base guests in the north for several nights during crossing season, rather than passing through, and why patience at the river is rewarded.
Where to be
The right place, at the right time.
December – March
The Southern Plains & Ndutu
For calving and the best predator action, base yourself on the southern Serengeti plains around Ndutu, or in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This is where the herds gather and give birth, and where the cats follow.
Serengeti
May – June
The Western Corridor
For the marching columns, the rut and the first Grumeti crossings, the Western Corridor is the place — and it is far quieter than the northern crossing season.
Serengeti
July – October
The Northern Serengeti & Mara River
For the great river crossings, base in the far north around Kogatende and the Mara River. This is peak season; book well ahead, and stay several nights to maximise your chances.
Serengeti
Year-round
Mobile Tented Camps
Because no fixed lodge sees the migration all year, the best way to follow it is a mobile tented camp that relocates with the herds through the seasons — southern plains in calving season, the north for the crossings.
See packages
Planning
How to see it.
A migration safari can be built in several ways, and the right approach depends on when you travel and how you like to explore. The two big decisions are how you get around, and where you stay.
Flying versus driving. The Serengeti is vast, and the migration's phases play out hundreds of kilometres apart. During crossing season the northern Serengeti is a long drive from the central airstrips, so most travellers fly in by light aircraft to an airstrip near the herds — Kogatende for the northern crossings, Ndutu for calving season — saving a full day of driving each way. An overland approach through the northern circuit (Tarangire, Ngorongoro, then the Serengeti) is rewarding and takes in several parks, but for reaching a specific migration phase quickly, flying wins.
Where to stay. Fixed lodges are comfortable and well-appointed, but a single lodge only has good migration access for part of the year. To follow the herds properly, many operators use mobile tented camps — semi-permanent camps that pack up and relocate two or three times a year to stay near the migration, putting you within a short drive of the action whatever the season. For crossing season in particular, a camp in the north is far better placed than a lodge in the central Serengeti.
How long you need. Allow at least three nights near the migration to give yourself a real chance of the phase you've come for — especially the crossings, which take patience. Many travellers combine three or four migration-focused nights with time in the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire, for a week-long northern safari that pairs the migration with the wider circuit.
In pictures
The migration, in frames.
Gallery - wildebeest river crossing - 1400x1600
Gallery - wildebeest calf, calving season - 900x700
Gallery - marching column of wildebeest - 900x700
Gallery - crocodile at the river crossing - 900x700
Gallery - lioness watching the herds - 900x700Is it for you?
Who the migration suits.
First-time safari-goers
The migration delivers the classic African safari at its grandest — vast herds, dramatic predators, the open plains. Combined with the Ngorongoro Crater, it is an unforgettable introduction.
Photographers
From the churning drama of a river crossing to the tender scenes of calving season, the migration offers some of the finest wildlife photography on earth. The northern crossings and the southern calving grounds are the prime windows.
Returning safari travellers
Even those who have been on safari before find the scale of the migration astonishing. Timing a trip to a specific phase — the crossings, the calving — gives a familiar safari a new focus.
Families
The spectacle and abundance of the migration captivate children, and the easy game viewing of the open plains means there is always something to see. Calving season, with its many newborns, is especially rewarding for families.
Questions
Great Migration questions.
It depends what you want to see. For the dramatic Mara River crossings, visit July to October. For calving season and the best predator action, come January to March. For the marching columns and fewer crowds, May to June in the Western Corridor. The herds are always somewhere in the Serengeti, so there is no wrong time — only different phases.
The Great Migration moves in a clockwise loop through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem — the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Within the Serengeti, the herds are on the southern plains around Ndutu from December to March, the Western Corridor around May to June, and the northern Mara River region from July to October.
Yes. The migration is a continuous, year-round movement, not a seasonal event — the herds are never absent from the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. What changes month by month is their location, so the key to a migration safari is matching your travel dates to the phase (calving, crossings, or the trek) you most want to see.
The Mara River crossings take place mainly from July to October in the northern Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara. The herds cross and re-cross repeatedly through the season. Crossings cannot be scheduled — the animals cross when ready, so seeing one takes several nights in the right place and a measure of luck.
Calving season is when around 500,000 wildebeest calves are born on the southern Serengeti plains around Ndutu, in a roughly three-week window in February. The concentration of newborns makes it the best time of year for predator action, as lions, cheetah and hyena are drawn to the herds. It is a quieter alternative to the crowded crossing season.
Allow at least three nights near the migration to give yourself a real chance of the phase you have come for, especially the river crossings, which require patience. Many travellers combine three or four migration nights with the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire for a week-long northern-circuit safari.
Both offer superb migration viewing, as the herds move between the two. The Serengeti in Tanzania holds the herds for far more of the year — calving in the south, the Western Corridor, and the northern crossings — while Kenya's Maasai Mara sees the herds mainly from around July to October. For most of the migration's phases, Tanzania's Serengeti is the destination.
See the migration for yourself.
Tell us when you can travel and a guide in Arusha will build you a route to the right place at the right time - within 24 hours, from a person, not a brochure.