Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara National Park covers 330 square kilometers along the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment in northern Tanzania. The park is compact but holds more habitat types than parks several times its size. From north to south you move through groundwater forest, open grassland, acacia woodland, and the alkaline lake itself. Each zone has different animals.

The park is known for two things most visitors cannot find elsewhere. The first is tree-climbing lions. Lions elsewhere in Africa almost never climb trees. The prides at Lake Manyara do it regularly, resting in the horizontal branches of fig and acacia trees at eye level with safari vehicles. No one fully understands why, but the behavior has been documented here for decades. The second is flamingos. When water levels on the lake are right, tens of thousands of lesser flamingos gather along the shoreline. At peak numbers the lake edge appears pink from a distance.

Beyond those two draws, Manyara holds strong elephant herds, one of the highest concentrations of baboons in Africa, large buffalo herds, hippos in the pool near the park entrance, and over 400 recorded bird species. The groundwater forest near the gate is one of the best places in northern Tanzania to see blue monkeys, bushbuck, and forest birds in the early morning.

The park sits 126 kilometers from Arusha, about two hours by road. It is usually visited as a half-day or full-day stop on the northern circuit, combined with Tarangire or on the way to Ngorongoro. It also works well as a standalone overnight for travelers who want a quieter northern experience.

Honest note: The park is narrow. There is one circuit and most vehicles use the same tracks. It is one of the more crowded parks on the northern circuit relative to its size. Going early in the morning and spending the first two hours in the groundwater forest makes a noticeable difference.