This post was originally from March 21, 2026

After our amazing time at Lake Nakuru, we drove to the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve. It is located in southwest Kenya and is known for the Great Migration where wildebeest and zebra migrate to Tanzania’s Serengeti. The drive was rather interesting because the roads were a bit out of control! The rains have been pretty intense over the last month (we have escaped them for most of the trip thank goodness) but sadly there has been tons of flooding across the country. We were told that the roads were not very good to begin with, but now the dips were like mini chasms that bounced me right out of my seat! Literally, I had air time!!!

This region is also the ancestral inhabitants of the Maasai Tribe. The Maasai people are very distinct and many still dress in traditional attire which are brightly coloured blankets with ornate beaded jewels. They also are known to remove one or two bottom front teeth when they are young as a form of initiation and cultural identity.

The Maasai live off the land and are known to be semi-nomadic. Their diet mainly consists of milk, cow and goat meat and cow’s blood. They live in boma’s which is like a little community. The male and female roles are very gender-based, where the men protect the village and the woman build the huts. Men can have as many wives as they want and each wife lives in her own hut with their children. It acceptable for the men to then just move around from hut to hut. They have many traditional ceremonies but one that stands out is the male circumcision. At about the age of 15 boys are brought to the middle of the village where they are circumcised in front of everyone. If the boy doesn’t show any sign of pain, it proves that he has passed the test and are sent out in the bush to live for 3-5 years. If he survives the wild he is considered a warrior and are welcomed back into the community.

We were lucky enough to visit a Maasai village and learn about their culture.  We walked to the village from our accommodation which also felt a bit like an obstacle course trying to avoid the muddy ditches. Once at the village, the men greeted us with a welcome dance as well as showed us some of their ceremonial dances. The rhythmical chanting that they do gave me goosebumps – it just felt so surreal to be witness something so different and beautiful. After the dancing they showed us how they make fire from two sticks and invited us into their homes which were made of cow dung. I find it absolutely fascinating to be with the Maasai and learn about a culture that is so different than what I know.