Lake Manyara National Park
Flamingo and pelican on the lake
Lush vegetation on the cliffs of the Great Rift Valley
Tree-climbing lion
Lake Manyara National Park stretches along the cliffs of the Great Rift Valley. It is made up for the most part of Lake Manyara itself and a riparian strip, situated between the lake and the rift valley cliff face.
Covering just 330 km², the park is relatively small, but it is extremely lush and diverse. It is situated approximately two hours from Arusha on the way to the Ngorongoro Crater. The main entrance is located at Mto wa Mbu village, from where the majority of guests visit just the northern part of the park.
The southern part of the park, on the other hand, has little traffic, and visitors are pretty much alone here.
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The park supports a good number of elephant, buffalo, wildebeest and giraffe, as well as lion and leopard. The high concentration of baboon here is also quite striking – they can be spotted in groups of hundreds! The cliffs of the rift valley receive more rain, making the park appear greener and more lush than e.g.
Tarangire National Park, which is not really that far from Lake Manyara. Pelican, flamingo, stork and cormorant can often be seen on the lake. Lake Manyara’s water level fluctuates dramatically, and the water itself can be very far from the shore during the dry season.
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