Lake Manyara is situated 100 kilometers from Arusha and less than an hour’s drive from Ngorongoro crater. The park can be accessed using two gates, one in the north and another in the south. The gate in the northern side is the busiest while the south is restricted to some lodges and safari camps. Most Lake Manyara safari lodges are also located in the northern side of the park. There is also an airport at the top of the rift valley. The best time for visiting Lake Manyara is in July to October during the dry season for wildlife viewing while bird enthusiasts can visit in June to November when migratory birds are present.
What to do on your Safari Holiday
Lake Manyara is an alkaline lake in Lake Manyara National Park at the base of the rift valley with other rising extinct volcanoes rising above the Masai plains. The lake is dominated by Mahogany trees, ground water, rocky rift valley escarpment and grassy flood plains. The park is Tanzania’s second oldest national park covering 390 kilometers squared. The lake is highly alkaline with crusty whit soda deposits during the dry season. The lake covers two thirds of the park with a small corridor of diverse ecosystem in between its shores and the dramatic Gregory escarpment.
The park is said to support eleven diverse ecosystems which is quite outstanding. Lake Manyara national park is endowed with various wildlife. Its well known for its tree climbing lions and the largest herds of elephants in the whole world. The other animals to be seen are; wildebeests, zebras, Masai giraffes, buffalos, waterbucks, warthogs, klipspringer, shy kirk’s dik dik and many more. The park is home to various baboons and has got the highest concentration of baboons in Africa. Visitors can see baboons numbering up to 200 members in a troop. There are also other primates to be seen such as the Syke monkeys among others.
There’s an area where you are sure to watch hippopotamus lazing around the renowned hippo pool. The water in the pool is fresh and not salty like the one in the deeper parts of the lake. Lake Manyara national park is also a birders paradise boasting with over 300 species of birds, some of the examples of birds seen are; crowned eagles, silvery cheeked hornbills, crested guinea fowl and of course thousands of flamingoes at the lake shores. The best time for bird watching is at the rainy season when migrants are in the park.
