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Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara National Park, which encompasses an area of 330 sq.km, of which 200 sq.km is lake, was proclaimed a game reserve in 1957 and registered three years later as a National Park. The park is situated between the 600 m high escarpment of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara and is 130 km from Arusha

Thus, it can be visited on a day excursion from this centre. At the Southern end of the park are hot Sulphur Springs known as Majimoto. Further along the forest the area opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond, the soda lake itself.

Lake Manyara is also renown for its tree-climbing lions which spend most of the day spread out along the branches of acacia trees six to seven metres above the ground. The park contains the most pachyderms per km sq. in Tanzania. As visitors enter the gate, they pass into the lush forest, home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. Buffalo and hippo lurch in the adjacent Hippo Pool. The vegetation eventually merges into flat topped acacia woodland where, in the heat of the day entire prides of lion can be seen stretched on the branches of these trees - a habit prevalent to Manyara lions.

Along with these amazing tree-climbing lions there are the usual browsers and grazers as well as the curios-looking banded mongoose. Two thirds of the park is dominated by the slightly alkaline lake which is home to a huge variety of waterbirds.

Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, the park is recognized for its incredible beauty. Wildlife at Lake Manyara is not restricted to birdlife only. Many game animals such as Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, hippo and a great variety of smaller animals also inhabit the park.

More than 400 species of bird including flamingo, pelican, red billed quelea, storks, sacred ibis, cormorants and Egyptian geese can be sighted in this area.

Other species of birds include the African spoonbill, lesser flamingo, white pelican and white faced duck.

Although Lake Manyara National Park is only 325 square kilometres (125 square miles), the shallow, alkaline lake consumes the majority of this area. The land portion of the Park is situated between the lake and the sheer rock walls of the Rift Valley escarpment that tower 610 metres (2 000 feet) above. The Park is home to three distinct habitats including a lush groundwater forest, open floodplains and acacia woodlands. In just a two-hour round-trip foray into the Park, it is possible to see all the main highlights – offering the ideal quick safari for travellers who are short of time.

Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise, especially for waterfowl and migrants. Its lush green forests are one of the best places to see leopards. Lions hunt on the grassy shores of the lake, and are known for their habit of climbing trees. Superb game viewing is offered throughout the year but is at its peak from December to February and from August to September.

Select from our available itineraries below for Lake Manyara Safaris. All option are available in either luxury lodge or camping safaris.

3 Days / 2 Nights Lake Manyara - Ngorongoro Crater After breakfast take a Picnic Lunch with you descend 670m into the crater floor for game viewing, breaking for lunch at the Lerai picnic site. .... read on for full itinerary	4 Days / 3 Nights Lake Manyara - Ngorongoro Crater - Tarangire Depart Arusha in the morning for Lake Manyara, arrive by lunch time. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Lake Manyara Twiga/Jambo/Fig Tree campsite / Lodge.... read on for full itinerary
5 Days / 4 Nights Lake Manyara - Ngorongoro Crater - Tarangire Lake Manyara National Park, which encompasses an area of 330 sq.km, of which 200 sq.km is lake, was proclaimed a game reserve in 1957 and registered three years later as a National Park. The park is situated between the 600 m high escarpment of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara and is 130 km from Arusha.Thus, it can be visited on a day excursion from this centre. At the Southern end of the park are hot Sulphur Springs.... read on for full itinerary	5 Days / 4 Nights Lake Manyara - Serengeti - Ngorongoro Crater The Serengeti boasts large herds of antelope including Patterson's eland, Klipspringer, Dikdik, Zebra, gazelles, lion, impala, leopard, cheetah, hyena and other larger mammals like the rhino, giraffe, elephant and hippopotamus. Nearly 500 species of birds have been recorded in the park. The Serengeti is an opportunity for one of the best game-viewing in Africa.... read on for full itinerary
6 Days / 5 Nights Lake Manyara - Serengeti - Ngorongoro Crater Ngorongoro towered alongside Mount Kilimanjaro as one of the highest peaks in Africa. Forged during the tumultuous birth of the Rift Valley, its volcanic top erupted at the time that ancient man first walked the plains.Rifts and volcanoes shape the landscape of Ngorongoro. A rift is a disturbance in the earth crust, which causes rise or falls of its borders. Rifts also causes.... read on for full itinerary	7 Days / 6 Nights Lake Manyara - Serengeti - Ngorongoro Crater - Tarangire very October and November, more than a million wildebeest and about 220,000 zebras travel south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short tropical rains, and then journey west and north after the long rains in April to June. The animals' ancient instinct....read on for full itinerary

7 Days / 6 Nights Lake Manyara - Serengeti - Ngorongoro Crater Lake Manyara is also renown for its tree-climbing lions which spend most of the day spread out along the branches of acacia trees six to seven metres above the ground. The park contains the most pachyderms per km sq. in Tanzania. As visitors enter the gate, they pass into the lush forest, home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. Rifts and volcanoes shape the landscape of Ngorongoro. A rift is a disturbance in the earth crust, which causes rise or falls of its borders. Rifts also causes lava or melted rock to penetrate to the surface where it hardens. If lava emerges from the same penetration for a long period, it builds up into a volcano. .... read on for full itinerary

7 Days / 6 Nights Tarangire- Lake Manyara - Ngorongoro Crater - Serengeti - Since most of the Crater floor is grassland, grazing animals predominate: gnu, zebra, gazelles, buffalo, eland and kongoni (Coke's hartebeest) and warthogs. The swamp and forest provide additional resources for hippos, some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhinos. Thus, it can be visited on a day excursion from this centre. At the Southern end of the park are hot Sulphur Springs known as Majimoto. Further along the forest the area opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond, the soda lake itself..... read on for full itinerary

More Kenya Safari Itineraries Below

6 Days South Bound Kenya Discovery This safari takes you to the most famous reserve in Kenya. This safari takes you to three of Kenya’s game sanctuaries- with a different experience at each. You start off with Maasai Mara, Kenya’s most Lionesses stroll in the Mara famous and finest game sanctuary. The Mara offers wildlife in such variety and abundance that it is difficult to believe: over 450 species of animals have been recorded here.... read on for full itinerary

More Kenya Safari Itineraries Below

6 Days Masai Mara | Lake Nakuru | Amboseli Discover Kenya 's stunning game parks, lakes and mountains. Complemented by romantic and colonial-inspired safari camps. This safari features the open plains of the Masai Mara famous for its annual migration of Wildebeest and Zebra, the waters of Lake Nakuru - home to millions of lesser and greater Flamingos and the swamps of Amboseli.... read on for full itinerary

7 Days Samburu | Aberdares | Lake Nakuru | Masai Mara Samburu National Reserve is a wildlife haven. Here you will spot Africa’s big cats - lions, cheetahs and the elusive leopard. Some animals are unique to this northern Kenya park: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, kudu and gerenuk. The Ewaso Nyiro River, the boundary with the neighboring Buffalo Springs National Reserve, is where the elephants, buffalo and other animal species gather for a drink. You will find the scenic semiarid landscape quite dramatic.... read on for full itinerary

7 Days Classic Kenya Discover Kenya 's stunning game parks, lakes and mountains. Complemented by romantic and colonial-inspired safari camps. This safari features the open plains of the Masai Mara famous for its annual migration of Wildebeest and Zebra, the waters of Lake Nakuru - home to millions of lesser and greater Flamingos and the swamps of Amboseli - a network of swamps and wetlands ensuring excellent game viewing year round. A perfect opportunity to spot the Big-5 and visit 3 completely different & unique areas.... read on for full itinerary

7 Days Masai Mara \| Lake Nakuru \| Mount Kenya Safari Most visitors to Kenya want to experience the country’s world famous wildlife. But there are many different ways to experience the Kenyan wilderness. Whether you want to drive by a pride of lions in a four wheel drive, walk through herds of plains game, watch a herd of elephants from the comfortable veranda of a safari lodge, track game on horseback or search for rare birds in a thick rainforest, the possibilities are endless.... read on for full itinerary	7 Days Amboseli \| Aberdares \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara After an early breakfast, you begin your safari by taking a scenic drive to the world famous Masai Mara. Stop enroute at the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment to see the stunning views. You will also see the Masai people on the way, who live unaffected by modern civilization.... read on for full itinerary
7 Days Tsavo West \| Amboseli \| Aberdares \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara Tsavo West National Park which lies roughly halfway between Nairobi and the Coast. The chief marvel here is the Mzima Springs, replenished with two hundred and twenty million litres of crystal clear water everyday, from the underground streams stemming from the lava massif known as Chyulu Hills. Mzima Springs is a favorite haunt of hippos and crocodiles.... read on for full itinerary	8 Days Aberdares \| Samburu \| Lake Baringo \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara Drive through lush coffee and tea plantations towards the Mt Kenya region. Lunch will be at a base hotel from where you will be transferred to your tree lodge. Enjoy the unique experience of all night and unlimited game viewing. Dinner and overnight at a tree lodge surrounded by forest and overlooking an illuminated waterhole and salt lick.... read on for full itinerary
13 Days Kenya \| Tanzania Special Leave for Lake Manyara National Park for afternoon game drive with picnic lunch enroute. Lake Manyara a birdwatcher’s paradise. Marvel at the variety of species, spoonbill, teal, pelican, kingfisher, hornbill and cormorant. In the tall trees, forest monkeys leap from branch to branch on the slope of the Great Rift escarpment, elephants stand in the shade of the baobab; and in the acacia woodland, lions.... read on for full itinerary	13 Days Great Trek Special Head north to the dramatic semi-arid scrubland of the Northern Frontier. After lunch, an afternoon game drive to sight resident wildlife species like the Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, Beisa The Samburu Reticulated GiraffeOryx and the blue-necked Somali Ostrich that are rare elsewhere in the country. Dinner and the night will be spent along the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River....read on for full itinerary

7 Days Masai Mara \| Lake Nakuru \| Mount Kenya Safari Most visitors to Kenya want to experience the country’s world famous wildlife. But there are many different ways to experience the Kenyan wilderness. Whether you want to drive by a pride of lions in a four wheel drive, walk through herds of plains game, watch a herd of elephants from the comfortable veranda of a safari lodge, track game on horseback or search for rare birds in a thick rainforest, the possibilities are endless.... read on for full itinerary	7 Days Amboseli \| Aberdares \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara After an early breakfast, you begin your safari by taking a scenic drive to the world famous Masai Mara. Stop enroute at the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment to see the stunning views. You will also see the Masai people on the way, who live unaffected by modern civilization.... read on for full itinerary
7 Days Tsavo West \| Amboseli \| Aberdares \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara Tsavo West National Park which lies roughly halfway between Nairobi and the Coast. The chief marvel here is the Mzima Springs, replenished with two hundred and twenty million litres of crystal clear water everyday, from the underground streams stemming from the lava massif known as Chyulu Hills. Mzima Springs is a favorite haunt of hippos and crocodiles.... read on for full itinerary	8 Days Aberdares \| Samburu \| Lake Baringo \| Lake Nakuru \| Masai Mara Drive through lush coffee and tea plantations towards the Mt Kenya region. Lunch will be at a base hotel from where you will be transferred to your tree lodge. Enjoy the unique experience of all night and unlimited game viewing. Dinner and overnight at a tree lodge surrounded by forest and overlooking an illuminated waterhole and salt lick.... read on for full itinerary
13 Days Kenya \| Tanzania Special Leave for Lake Manyara National Park for afternoon game drive with picnic lunch enroute. Lake Manyara a birdwatcher’s paradise. Marvel at the variety of species, spoonbill, teal, pelican, kingfisher, hornbill and cormorant. In the tall trees, forest monkeys leap from branch to branch on the slope of the Great Rift escarpment, elephants stand in the shade of the baobab; and in the acacia woodland, lions.... read on for full itinerary	13 Days Great Trek Special Head north to the dramatic semi-arid scrubland of the Northern Frontier. After lunch, an afternoon game drive to sight resident wildlife species like the Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, Beisa The Samburu Reticulated GiraffeOryx and the blue-necked Somali Ostrich that are rare elsewhere in the country. Dinner and the night will be spent along the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River....read on for full itinerary

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