Lake Manyara

About Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara National Park is a narrow strip of land squeezed between the sheer western wall of the Great Rift Valley and a shallow alkaline lake. Within a short drive you pass from dense forest fed by springs seeping out of the escarpment, through acacia woodland and grassy flats, to a shoreline where hippos bask and soda glitters at the water's edge.

Blue monkeys and big troops of olive baboons work through the forest, elephants browse beneath mahogany and fig trees, and the park's lions are known for resting in acacia branches, though you need luck to find them there. Pelicans, storks and, in some seasons, flamingos crowd the lake edge. A canopy walkway takes you up among the treetops, and outside the gate the market town of Mto wa Mbu offers cycling and walking tours through banana groves and rice paddies.

Manyara is about two hours by road from Arusha, so most visitors fit it into a half or full day between Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Crater. Game viewing is best in the dry season from June to October, while birding peaks from November to April, when migrants arrive and the lake is full. Base yourself near Karatu or Mto wa Mbu and add a visit to the coffee farms on the highlands above.