The Great Migration, Month by Month

There is a true yearly rhythm to the Great Migration, although rainfall nudges the exact dates around a bit from one year to the next. If you are building a trip around it, focus on three windows. First comes calving, from late January through February on the Ndutu plains, where as many as 8,000 wildebeest calves may arrive in a single day. To picture how that plays out, read our Ndutu calving season guide. Next the herds travel north and west, and they reach the Grumeti River crossings in the western corridor around June and July. Last are the Mara River crossings, usually at their peak in August and September when the herds push on into Kenya's Maasai Mara. This is the best-known and most photographed chapter of the cycle, after which the herds finally turn south and the year starts over. Read our full guide to the migration's route, or contact us to plan a trip around a specific stage.