When to See the Great Migration: A Month-by-Month Guide

The Great Migration isn't a single event — it's a continuous, year-round movement of over 1.5 million wildebeest, plus hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle, following the rains in a roughly clockwise loop through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.

January to March, the herds gather in the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and Ndutu for calving season — around 500,000 calves are born within a few weeks, drawing intense predator action.

April and May bring the long rains and the start of the northward migration through the central Serengeti's woodlands.

June and July see the herds moving through the Grumeti region, with the first dramatic river crossings of the Grumeti River.

August through October is Mara River crossing season in the northern Serengeti — the most iconic (and dramatic) images of the migration, as herds cross crocodile-infested waters.

November brings the short rains and the start of the journey back south, closing the loop.

Because the timing shifts year to year with rainfall, we track the herds' movements closely and build each migration safari around where they actually are — not just where the calendar says they should be.