About the reserve
Masai Mara National Reserve: one reserve, two managers, owned by Narok County
The Masai Mara is a county reserve, not a national park. Narok County owns and runs the land east of the Mara River, and since 2001 a non-profit, the Mara Conservancy, has run the Mara Triangle west of it on the county's behalf.
If you only want the answer
The Masai Mara National Reserve covers about 1,510 km² in Narok County, south-west Kenya, on the Tanzanian border. It was first gazetted in 1948 as the 518 km² Mara Triangle, extended east in 1961 under the Narok council and cut to its present size in 1984. Narok County runs it and sets the fees; the Mara Conservancy manages the Triangle for the county, and in August 2026 it said it was operating without any signed agreement.
Who runs the Masai Mara?
Narok County Government owns the reserve and manages the larger part of it, the Central Mara east of the Mara River, directly. Fee collection on that side is outsourced to Kenya Airports Parking Services (KAPS) under a contract dating from 2014. The Mara Triangle, 510 km² between the river, the Oloololo escarpment and the Tanzanian border, has been managed for the county since June 2001 by the Mara Conservancy, a Kenyan not-for-profit, which also collects through KAPS.
The county's own law spells the name Maasai Mara National Reserve. This guide uses Masai Mara, the spelling most people search for. Either way it is not a KWS park, which is why the KWS fee card, KWS annual passes and eCitizen do not apply.
| Part | Managed by | Public gates | Airstrips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Mara (Narok side) | Narok County Government | Sekenani, Talek, Musiara, Oloolaimutia, Sand River | Keekorok, Ol Kiombo, Musiara |
| Mara Triangle | Mara Conservancy, for Narok County | Oloololo, Purungat Bridge | Mara Serena |
| Conservancies (outside the reserve) | Landowners and their tourism partners | No public gates; camp-controlled | Mara North, Olare Orok, Ol Seki and others |
The governance question in 2026
The arrangement between the county and the Mara Conservancy is unsettled. The Conservancy's agreement with the county expired on 30 June 2026. In July it signed a new one and left it with the county to sign; in August the county asked for further changes, and the Conservancy reported that it was operating without any agreement. Who runs the Triangle in 2027 is an open question.
Two other live issues touch visitors. In July 2026 tour operators asked the county to cut the $200 fee for October to December, and the Governor defended the increase; nothing had changed by October. And a 2025 report that the airstrips inside the reserve would close once the new Narok airport opens has not been acted on: both scheduled airlines still fly to them.
How big is the Masai Mara, and why sources disagree
Use about 1,510 km². That is the area in the World Database on Protected Areas and the figure set by Gazette Notice 145 of January 1984. Narok County's own Management Plan 2023-2032 gives 1,530 km² in its history chapter and 1,560 km² in its tourism chapter, split 1,072 km² Central Mara and 488 km² Triangle. The 1,800 km² still quoted on older pages is the 1961 extent, before the 1984 excisions gave livestock access to watering points.
The plan divides the reserve into zones that decide how you drive. High Use Zones cover just over 638 km² of the Central Mara and about 198 km² of the Triangle, with no off-road driving at all; Low Use Zones cover 374 km² and 203 km², where vehicles may leave the road only to approach big cats, to no closer than 25 m. A narrow Mara River zone protects the riverine forest and the crossing points.
From the Mara Triangle in 1948 to the reserve today
The reserve began on 24 November 1948 as the Mara National Reserve, covering the Triangle only, about 518 km². In 1961 it passed to the Narok African District Council and was extended east to about 1,831 km². It was redesignated in 1973 and 1974, cut back in 1984, and split in the mid-1990s between Narok County Council east of the river and the new Trans Mara County Council for the Triangle. Devolution in 2013 put the whole reserve under Narok County, which kept the Conservancy's contract.
The land was Maasai country long before any of this, and the county's management plan calls the reserve a cultural and natural heritage of the Maasai. The history page has the full story.
The conservancies around the reserve
North and east of the boundary lie community conservancies on Maasai land, leased to safari camps: Mara North, Olare Motorogi, Naboisho, Ol Kinyei, Lemek, Siana, Olderkesi and others. The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association counts 24 of them and 16,530 landowners. They are outside the reserve, charge their own fee ($130 per adult per night in Mara North, Olare Motorogi and Naboisho in 2026), and allow walking and night drives, which the reserve's management plan bans.
Choose a reserve camp if you want to be closest to the river crossings in July to October; choose a conservancy if you want fewer vehicles, walks and night drives, and are happy to pay the reserve fee only on the days you drive in.
Sources
- Maasai Mara National Reserve Management Plan 2023-2032, Narok County (read 6 Oct 2026)
- Protected Planet, WDPA site 1297 (read 6 Oct 2026)
- Mara Conservancy, our history (read 6 Oct 2026)
- Mara Conservancy, monthly reports March to August 2026
- WRTI, National Wildlife Census 2025 Technical Report, section 6.3.1 (read 6 Oct 2026)
- The Star, Senators demand audit of Narok's park revenue deal, 14 Feb 2026
- Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (read 6 Oct 2026)