Lake Manyara National Park
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.
- Background
- What to see
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. Known for its elephants and tree-climbing lions, Lake Manyara is also excellent for flamingos and other fascinating birds in and around the soda lake. A Lake Manyara safari is a unique and fascinating experience as the Park offers vast ecological variety in a small area, featuring a ground-water forest, acacia tortilis woodland and hot springs called Maji Moto. The dry winter season is the perfect time to visit if what you are after is big game viewing, while the wet summer season brings the variety of birds, as well as water-based activities, which add something special to the safari.
From soaring groundwater forests and a tranquil lake, to the mountain escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park boasts an incredible wealth of habitats and diverse African wildlife. Guests are offered an exciting, interpretive safari experience in game-rich surrounds which include large herds of elephantand buffalo.An incredible array of bird life thrives on the alkaline soda of Lake Manyara. Pink flamingo stoop and graze by the thousands, colourful specks against the grey minerals of the lake shore. Also seen here are Yellow-billed storks and herons, all merging together to provide a spectacular show to the onlooker. Even reluctant bird-watchers will find something to watch and marvel at within the national park. Lake Manyara National Park is said to have the largest population of baboons in all of Africa. One of the real highlights is the flamboyance of flamingos that stain the soda lakes pink.