Tanzania has 31 administrative regions, including one that is the Manyara Region. The best part about this region is the diversity of animals and wildlife you can see all at once. Elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, tree-climbing lions, and baboons are just a few of the animals that can be found. You can expect large herds of all the animals that you’ve only seen on television until now!
Lake Manyara is an alkaline lake at the foot of the Rift Valley Escarpment’s western reaches. A very lovely park surrounds the lake.
The park has a range of habitats comprising grassy floodplains, groundwater or riparian jungle, and the stony escarpment’s foot. You’ll also come across beautiful acacia woodlands. If you’re lucky, you’ll see cute groups of hippos enjoying a nice bath in the lake.
Lake Manyara National Park is a relatively small park (330km2), and Lake Manyara covers over 230 km2 of its surface during the rainy season.
The picturesque views effortlessly provide tourists with spectacular scenery and a tight, round-trip wildlife watching circle. A circular drive in the area takes you through woodland, marshes, grasslands, wetlands and lush green forests.
There will be lots of buffalos, dik-diks, baboons, elephants, giraffes, zebras, blue monkeys, and even the famous tree-climbing lions that nature enthusiasts all over the world have always been curious to see. Keep a watchful eye to spot these rare lions lounging among the acacia woodlands.
You’ll come across plenty of flamingos feeding along the lake’s shore during the rainy season. The flamingos and other biodiversity make Lake Manyara National Park a popular destination.
Scores of pink-backed pelicans and yellow-billed storks, Marabou storks and other beautiful and elegant birds breed in the groundwater woodland. Their breeding areas are mostly within the National Park. For short durations, enormous groups of wildebeest from the Mto-wa-Mbu Wildlife Controlled Area approach the Manyara National Park.
A deluxe camp is located inside the Manyara National Park. This private location is the pinnacle of luxury safari. You’ll find apartments created around the woods in a quiet, forested part of the park.
A multitude of hotels and campgrounds are located just outside the park. If you’re an adventurous person and want to get a true feel of nature, consider the campgrounds. But if you’d rather have a luxurious stay in one of the deluxe lodges and apartments, then you have those at your service too!
At Lake Manyara, where average daily temperatures top at roughly 29°C/84°F in the Rainy season, the weather never becomes too hot. Don’t worry about sunburns or not being able to enjoy it because of warm weather!
Lake Manyara National Park is 126 kilometers south of Arusha and takes an hour or two to get by driving. The Manyara National Park is also accessible from Babati, the Manyara Region’s capital. The Lake Manyara Airport is a short distance away, so conveyance and logistics will never be a problem.
Lake Manyara offers excellent animal viewing all year round. So for all but two of the rainier months, it’s prime season in the park all throughout the year. The tourist number only slightly decreases in the months of April and May. But for most of the year, you can expect tons of other visitors and high prices for amenities there.