Location: Northern Tanzania, 1 ½ hours west of Arusha town.
History: The area around Lake Manyara was once famous has a hunters heaven but thankfully the park is now established, protected and managed by the Tanzanian Park Authorities.
Size: 330 sq km of which 200 sq km is Lake when water levels are high.
Geography / Habitats: 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 entrance to the park is a lush forest with many ancient mahogany trees and many monkeys. This then opens up to a large grassy floodplain and the lake itself with a stunning backdrop of jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants.
Animals: Wildebeast, the legendary tree climbing Lions, Elephant, Buffalo, Warthog, Flamingo, Waterfowl, Waterbucks, Giraffe, Hippo, Impala, Zebra, Dik-dik, Leopard, Hyena and over 400 bird species have been recorded.
Of interest: Game drives, night game drives, canoeing when the water levels is sufficiently high. Cultural tours, picnics, bush lunch/dinner, mountain bike tours, abseiling and forest walks on the escarpment outside the park.
Accommodation Options: Lodges, local hotels, fixed tented camp and camping.