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Masai Mara in March

March is when the long rains arrive in the Mara. The grass greens, the resident plains game drop their young and lodge rates slide towards the year's low, but storms can now damage roads and bridges, as they did badly in March 2026.

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March is a shoulder month in the Masai Mara: 28.1°C days, 15.4°C nights and about 108 mm of rain in the model as the long rains begin. Expect green grass, newborn resident plains game and active predators, with lower lodge rates and the $100 park fee. Several conservancy camps close from early April, so March is the last month to book them before the rains.

Masai Mara weather in March: the long rains begin

The model gives March 28.1°C by day, 15.4°C at night and about 108 mm of rain over 12 days, more than in January and February combined. The figure is approximate; the Mara's gauges record roughly a third more rain than the model over a year.

March 2026 shows what the start of the long rains can do. The Mara Conservancy reported huge rainstorms on the 5th and 6th that did very substantial damage to roads and bridges in the Triangle, the Mara River rose to levels it called unprecedented, Purungat Gate went under water and the Triangle was cut off for days.

Green grass and newborns

The rains turn the plains green and the resident grazers, wildebeest, topi, zebra and gazelle, have their young in this season, which keeps lions, cheetah and hyaenas busy. The migrating herds are still far south in Tanzania.

The grass is not yet at its longest, so March game viewing is easier than in April and May. Migrant birds from Europe are still present in the northern winter months.

Rates slide, and the closures start soon after

Kicheche Mara North drops to its regular rate of $625 per person on 1 March 2026, and Kicheche Valley in Naboisho is on its regular rate from 1 March to 9 April. Governors' Camp stays at $623 per person until 31 March before falling to $453.

From April the doors start closing: Kicheche's Mara North and Bush Olare camps shut on 1 April and Kicheche Valley on 10 April 2026, and Asilia's Rekero Camp closes for April and May. Safarilink's high season ends on 31 March.

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