Tucked below the majesty of Rift Valley wall, Lake Manyara National Park consists of a thin green band of forest, flanked by the sheer 600m high red and brown cliffs of the escarpment on one side and by the white hot shores of an ancient soda lake on the other. This wedge of surprisingly varied vegetation supports a wealth of wildlife, nourished by the streams flowing out of the escarpment base and waterfalls spilling over the cliffs. Acacia woodland shelters the park’s famous tree-climbing lions, lying languidly among the branches in the heat of the day. Feeding in the undergrowth or dozing in the dry riverbeds are the country’s densest population of buffalo and elephant.

Lake Manyara National Park is noted for its incredible beauty. As visitors enter the gate they pass into the lush forest, home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. Further along, the forest opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond, the soda lake itself, covering 200 sq km and sanctuary to over 400 species of bird including flamingo, pelican, storks, sacred ibis, cormorants and Egyptian geese. The park is particularly noted for its huge herds of buffalo and elephant. Also giraffe, hippo, reedbuck, warthog, wildebeest, zebra and a great variety of smaller animals.

Deep in the south of Lake Manyara National park, hot springs buble to the surface as hippo wallow near the lake’s sedge-lined borders. The National parks dazzling variety of birds includes thousands of red-billed quelea flitting over the water, pelicans, cormorants and the pink streaks of thousands of Flamingos. Manyara is the erfect location for an active safari – canoeing on the lake or mountain biking and abseiling outside the park’s borders.

The dry season (July to October) is best for large mammals, while the wet season (November to June) is best for bird watching, waterfalls and canoeing.

Getting to Lake Manyara National Park:
A two hour drive, or half hour flight, from Arusha.