Lake Manyara National Park
Located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park offers varied ecosystems, incredible bird life, and breathtaking views.
Located on the way to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, Lake Manyara National Park is worth a stop in its own right. Its ground water forests, bush plains, baobab strewn cliffs, and algae-streaked hot springs offer incredible ecological variety in a small area, rich in wildlife and incredible numbers of birds.
Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience.
The gem is famous for tree-climbing lions, which is one of the main reasons for visitors to pay a visit to the park. In addition to the lions, the national park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world — a fact that accounts for interesting game viewing of large families of the primates. Buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, olive baboon, blue monkey, klipspringer, lions, elephant, hippos are also seen here.
The alkaline soda of Lake Manyara attracts an incredible array of birdlife that thrives on its brackish waters. More than 400 species have been recorded. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.
Park Attractions
The Park has remarkable attractions most notably the tree climbing lions, Marang' forest, hot spring, ground water forest, diversity of bird species and the rift valley. Plan your trip by visiting Lake Manyara National Park were you will get exceptional experience that quenches your travel thirst.
FAQs
Lake Manyara National Park
The Can be visited throughout the year but the park remains crowded from July to October for superb wildlife and bird viewing opportunity. The stunning scenery of Lake Manyara draws millions of visitors.
However, from November to May, the park presents its most loveliness. Because the season is wet and the vegetation is lush and cascading waterfalls enhance the beauty. During this time the bird watching is also the best as some migratory birds visit the park.
The Park can be accessed by road or air
Road. The park is 115 km from Arusha city to main gate via Makuyuni - Ngorongoro road.
Air. Can be accessed through scheduled flights to Manyara Airstrips.
Arusha - Lake Manyara National Park. Distance: 130 km, from the lodge in Arusha it takes about 3 hours driving, from Kilimanjaro Airport ca. 4 hours (180 km).
The Park experiences bi-modal rainfall season with short rains starting from November to December and long rains from February to May and dry season is from late June to October.
It is located at an altitude between 850 and 2000 meters with annual average rainfall ranging from 650 to 760mm.
Destinations near Lake Manyara National Park
These nearby destinations have a lot to offer