Located 125 km west of Arusha town, nestling by the wall of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the oldest and most popular sanctuaries in East Africa. The park has a large variety of habitats, making it possible to support a wealth of wildlife in its small area. The main habitats include the shallow soda lake itself which occupies 77% of the National Park total area of 330 sq. km, the groundwater forest, open grassland, acacia woodland and the rift wall.

The most famous spectacle in the park is the tree-climbing lions, which are occasionally seen along branches of acacia trees. Other animals found in the park include buffalo, elephants, leopards, baboons, impala, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich and hippos. Popularly referred to as an ornithologist’s paradise, Lake Manyara National Park contains over 400 bird species found in most savanna and river habitats in East Africa. Common water birds to be seen here are pelicans, spoonbills, Egyptian geese, hammerkops and the migratory flamingos, which arrive in hundreds of thousands creating one of Africa’s great natural sights over the soda lake.

Info

Size: 330 square kilometres.

Location: Northern Tanzania. Roughly ninety minutes drive from Arusha. Best     Time: July   to         October       for  game      or   November  to              June        for bird-watching.

To Do: Game drives, canoeing, cultural tours, mountain biking, abseiling, and forest walks.

Known For: Elephants and flamingos