With an area of 1510 km² the Maasai Mara is not the largest conservation area in Kenya, but it is probably the most famous.

The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Red Sea to Southern Africa.

The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia trees in the South-East region. The Western border,where Kilima Camp is situated, is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal.