Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara National Park is a small and naturally pretty game reserve spanning around 125 square miles. Three quarters of the National Park is the actual lake of shallow alkaline waters, surrounded by flood plains. Lake Manyara is dotted with large fig trees, mahogany trees and acacia forests. The lake is fed by underground springs which bring water from the Manyara basin. This combination supplies lush grazing land and also attracts many game wildlife. The land area of the park is located west of the lake, hemmed in on the other side by the Great Rift wall.

The park is perhaps best known for its tree-climbing lions and its baboons but the grazing also attracts hippo, elephant, wildebeest, giraffe and buffalo. There is a good leopard population here, but because of the terrain they are, as ever, hard to see. For the ornithologist there are over 300 migratory bird species to spot, including flamingos and the long-crested Eagle.

Visitors to Manyara enjjoy a great variety of terrain on game-drives, from the ancient forests, to thick scrubland, to the lakeside flood plains. While not being the largest park, it does add a different dimension to a safari in Tanzania, enjoying the sight of the lake shimmering in the African heat, often with large flocks of flamingos feeding in its shallow waters. There are several lodges and camps within the park or on its boundaries. Manyara is a 203 hour drive from Arusha depending on traffic.

Safaris visiting this attraction

7 days
From £1,910
Tanzania Escorted Tour

Small group safari tour visiting the Northern Circuit: Lake Manyara, Tarangire, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater

8 days
From £3,775
Tanzania in Luxury

From the wilds of Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Crater to the Serengeti, this is a safari with serious style.

13 days
From £5,220
Tanzania Wildlife Extra


8 days
From £3,095
Tanzania Wildlife Week


12 days
From £10,110
Ultimate Tanzania

Stay in a treehouse in Manyara, in a spectacular lodge on the sunrise rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, and in a tented camp in the Serengeti before relaxing on a paradise island.

Nearby Camps


Lake Manyara
Nearby Camps