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Five days in the Serengeti during the migration

Serengeti

Following a million wildebeest across northern Tanzania, and why the river crossings are worth the wait.

The great migration is a loop, not a line: around 1.5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra move clockwise between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, following the rain. Where they are depends on the month, and it pays to know.

We went in August, when the herds are in the far north of the Serengeti, crossing the Mara river. Crossings are unpredictable. We waited three hours on the first day and saw nothing, then watched thousands pour down the bank the next morning, with crocodiles waiting.

Timing it

January to March: calving season in the southern plains, with the predators that follow. June and July: the western corridor. August to October: river crossings in the north. The long rains in April and May make many camps close.