Tanzania’s Arusha region is home to Lake Manyara National Park. The lake in the middle of this national park, Lake Manyara, is the source of its name.
Approximately 230 square kilometers, or more than three quarters of the National Park’s entire size, are covered by the lake.
The stunning scenery of Lake Manyara National Park, which was officially gazetted in 1960, consists of a combination of plains, valleys, and rocks.
The flamingos and tree-climbing lions that call this national park home. There are also a lot of elephants there.
Lake Manyara your Tanzanian Safari
The national park is a part of Tanzania’s northern tourism circuit because it is situated in the Arusha region. Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the final Ngoro Ngoro national parks would be the typical itinerary. This travel would be roughly 6 to 8 days.
The least amount of animals are concentrated in Lake Manyara of the Northern Circuit parks, partly because of its size. However, it is thought that this national park had a large amount of wildlife in the 1980s, but that in recent years, due to human activity and other factors, the wildlife population had drastically decreased.
Wildlife in Lake Manyara
The soda late Lake Manyara is located in this national park. There is also savanna, woodland, and equatorial forest vegetation in this environment.
Even though Lake Manyara’s waters are alkaline, animals are compelled to drink them during the dry season since all other sources dry up.
In addition to the large herd of elephants and the lake, this national park is well-known for its unusual tree-climbing lion population.
Compared to those in the Serengeti and Ngoro Ngoro National Parks, the lions here are more likely to climb trees.
Additionally, hot springs may be discovered there at the location where the Mto wa Mbu River and the Endabash River split.
More than 380 bird species have been identified as calling it home. Of course, there are other creatures, such as cheetahs, antelopes, hippos, rhinos, baboons, and leopards.
Getting to Lake Manyara
The most popular route to reach Lake Manyara National Park is through the city of Arusha on the road. You can fly into Kilimanjaro Airport to enter Tanzania, and then take a car to Arusha.
Arusha and Lake Manyara National Park are roughly 125 kilometers away, making the trip take two hours. There is good tarmacked road.
Flying from Kilimanjaro International Airport to the airstrip in Lake Manyara National Park takes around 40 minutes.
When to visit Lake Manyara?
Although one can visit the area at any time of year, it is recommended that they do so during the two dry season stretches.
The months of mid-June through September and December through February are when the dry seasons occur.
The animals move during this period as well in order to get closer to Lake Manyara, the water supply.
The months of March through mid-June and October through November are the ones you should attempt to avoid.
Large amounts of rain fall throughout this time, making the area extremely unkempt and saggy.
The volume of visitors is often minimal. So, you can schedule a visit around this period if you want the wilderness to yourself.
