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Sand River Camp

Masai Mara Reserve

Kenya

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Located on a picturesque site within the Mara National Reserve, Sand River Camp enjoys stunning views over the Sand River and out to the neighbouring grassy hills and plains of Tanzania.

The camp has 16 simple but comfortable tented rooms, each built on a low platform overlooking the river. The rooms fan out from either side of the central hub, which functions as two smaller camps. Each "wing" has its own designated dining and public areas. There is also a small swimming pool available for cooling off during the heat of the day.

The camp is on the migration route for the wildebeest, zebra, and Thompson's gazelle, which move between the Serengeti and Maasai Mara every year from July to October. The Sand River area is a unique and beautiful part of the Mara, and the camp's location allows access on longer drives to the Mara Triangle and the main Mara River habitats. We recommend staying at this camp only from October to June, as the area can be busy during the high season.

About This Area

The Masai Mara Game Reserve is world-famous and offers some of Africa's most beautiful landscapes. Its rolling grasslands seem to go on forever, bisected by numerous watercourses, some of the bigger ones lined with riverine forests. It potentially offers the best game viewing in Africa.

The Mara Serengeti ecosystem straddles the border of Kenya and Tanzania. The Mara Reserve sits within that ecosystem; it is about 1,500 square kilometres, which is vast compared to many of the surrounding conservancies. But even more extraordinary is that it is part of an enormous contiguous wilderness of over 30,000 square kilometres, including the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Maswa. That's about the size of Belgium. Wildebeest, zebra, elephants, eland, leopards, and cheetah traverse hundreds of kilometres over this land.

Choosing the right location within the ecosystem, the right guide and the right season are of utmost importance, possibly more important than any other factors when planning your trip. We feel that the Mara Reserve still holds some of the finest safari experiences anywhere in Africa; the wildlife is phenomenal year-round, with an incredible variety of different animals and good numbers of predators. However, it is essential to avoid some parts of the Mara Reserve during the few months of the peak tourist season as they can suffer terribly from overcrowding, which can detract from your experience

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