Welcome to Lake Manyara National Park well known for the tree climbing lions, the soda ash lake that attracts thousands and pink flamingos, one of Tanzania’s biggest elephant population and breathtaking scenery! This travel guide offers you the most updated information about the attractions, Lake Manyara accommodation, getting there and so much more. Enjoy your safari in Tanzania!
Located in the northern part of Tanzania, Lake Manyara National Park is 126 kilometers west of Arusha Town.
By road – Lake Manyara National Park is about 150 km from Arusha (about a two- to three-hour drive).
By air – Arusha is served by two airports. Arusha Airport has daily flights from numerous local destinations and Kilimanjaro International Airport has daily flights from local, African and international airlines. 30-minute flights can be booked from Arusha to Manyara Airstrip.
Arusha Airport
3 Hours Before Flight Time
Expect to see a multitude of baboons, plenty of elephants, blue monkeys, buffalo, giraffes, zebra, tiny dik-dik and the well-known tree-climbing lions. Be sure to look up to spot them lazing in the acacia trees.
With a surprisingly diverse number of habitats in a small area, from forest and grassy floodplains to the lake itself and acacia woodland, the park provides a home to a wide range of animals and incredible birdlife. It’s a birdwatcher’s paradise, with a huge range of bird species, including pink-plumed flamingos and many raptors.
Pick up at 8:30 AM from your hotel in Arusha and depart for Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. As you enter the national park, lush forests of Acacia and Mahogany trees begin to set the mood for what is waiting ahead.
The game drive will go on till evening with a small break for picnic lunch. During the game drive watch out for buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, baboons and the blue monkeys.
Another spectacle of Lake Manyara National park is the tree climbing lions, however spotting them is a game of luck. In the right season, you can see the shoreline turning pink with millions of flamingos flocking there. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you..
After an early breakfast, descend to the crater floor for game drive(5 hours). You can expect to see lions, elephants, Zebras, Hippos, Flamingos, Jackals, Rhinos Antelopes and many birds. The birds seen here include eagle, vulture, and flamingos in the Crater Lake, stork, bats, giant vulture, sacred ibis, kori bustard, blacksmith plover, long necked heron and the cattle eagle.
Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. With a 2hr drive left to your accommodation in Karatu, the day will come to a close. Freshly made delicious dinner is kept ready for you at your chosen accommodation. All these days of the safari, will have you quite tired and a good rest is essential.
The next day you will begin the last leg of your safari.
The final day of your safari will begin as usual by 8:00 AM after a luscious breakfast. The destination for today is Arusha to Tarangire National Park where you will have a half day game drive. Tanzania’s third largest National park is known for its majestic baobab trees that dot the landscape, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them.
The Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. Here you may see lion, leopard, cheetah, lesser kudu, buffalo, Oryx, eland, giraffe and zebra. By mid afternoon, you will branch out and head towards Arusha where you will be dropped off to your preferred location by about 6PM in the evening.
