Probably Tanzania’s most beautifully set national park, Lake Manyara stretches for 50km along the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. It is also one of Tanzania’s smallest National parks, covering 330 sq. Kms (127 sq miles), of which up to 200 sq km (77 sq miles) is lake when water levels are high but its varied shoreline habitats shelter a wide variety of animals, including elephants, great flocks of flamingo, hippos and the renowned tree climbing lions.
With its evergreen groundwater forest, Manyara is a touch of green in an otherwise dry landscape. This forest, fed by springs flowing down the escarpment wall in the north together with the many different habitats and the presence of year round water makes it an oasis for wildlife even during the dry seasons and attracts part of the wildlife migration from Tarangire. The forest is home to Manyara’s elephants, Impala, Bushbuck, Waterbuck, Guinea fowls and a host of other creatures alongside the ever present families of Blue and Vervet monkeys. Baboon troops also frequent the forest as well as on the plains adjacent to the forest.
Buffaloes usually feed by the lakeshore, sometimes numbering several hundred in a single herd. The fan delta that forms before the lake is a refuge for over two hundred hippos that with luck might be seen lounging out of the water during the day. Plains game includes Giraffe, Zebra, wildebeest, Warthog, mongoose, Kirk’s dik-dik and their attending predators; the tree climbing Lions, Leopards, Wild dogs and Jackals among others. Sometimes pairs of agile klipspringers can be seen silhouetted against the sky as they stand on rocks on the face of the escarpment wall. The shallow lakeshore is favored by water birds including Plovers, Ducks, Geese, Cormorants, Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, Jacanas and the highlight of them all, the vast flocks of pink flamingos who are attracted by the abundance of algae in the lake’s shallow waters. The algae are supported by a series of hot springs rich in the foul smelling Sulphur, that are heated by geothermal activities in the earth’s mantle.
Raptors that are found in the park include the long crested eagle that preys on the Vervets, many species of vultures, the pale chanting goshawk among others. Together there are about 400 bird species that have been recorded in the park, many a visitor’s highlight.
As small as it may seem, Lake Manyara, stretching along the base of the 600 meter high escarpment wall is one of the most beautiful places in Tanzania, a true scenic gem. With a setting so grand that Ernest Hemingway eulogized it as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa” and even named his book “The green hills of Africa” after the scene as he saw as he journeyed up the escarpment wall, Manyara is sure to enchant many a traveler now just as it did almost a century ago.
Lake Manyara National Park like the Ngorongoro and Serengeti and Tarangire has bimodal rainfall. However its short rains may start a little earlier and end earlier October – November and the long rains March – May. It seldom rains for the whole day.
Manyara’s dry season is from June – September and December to February.
Temperatures during the dry season range from 24 C° during the day and around 14 C° during the nights. Warm clothes during early morning game drives is recommended.
Temperatures during the wet season are around 27 C° in the afternoon and around 16 C° at night.
Lake Manyara is great throughout the year. The park is at its utmost beauty during the wet season November – May when the vegetation is very lush and waterfalls cascade down the rift valley escarpment.
The dry season making most of the park routes accessible is preferred by many.
The Park can be accessed both by road or air.
By Road 115kms from Arusha City.
By Air: Chartered flights to Manyara Airstrip.
Lake Manyara National Park has diverse accommodation options a stone throw away from the park. From campsites, tented camps and lodges. Most of them are located on the edge of the rift valley with spectacular views.
The Park offers just a handful of accommodation options; Camping, tented camp and lodge
Yasin is an excellent driver and a very experienced guide, who dicovers even the ear of a lion hiding in the grass in a distance of 50 meters. So we have been lucky to see a lot of animals. Therefore our Safari was an awesome experience. We also received lots of information about the animals, the National Parks, the country of Tansania and the people living there. Since he is very humorous guy, we had a lot of fun, too. Thanks Yasin for a very special and fantastic time.
Can’t recommend Yasin highly enough. Endlessly informative with an almost sixth sense of where the animals are likely to be. Also a funny and ever positive travelling companion who contributed much to a family holiday of a lifetime.
We had a three-day safari with Yasin. Yasin gave us a very warm welcome right from the start and made us feel very familiar and friendly. It didn’t feel like a tour with a guide. We felt that we were in good hands and were able to enjoy the safari. We particularly liked the fact that Yasin always involved us in everything. For example, we were able to decide when our day began or ended. Yasin was able to tell us a lot about the wildlife, but also about the culture and the country. He was in constant contact with his colleagues, which gave us a good opportunity to see the BIG5. The moment of our engagement was very special for us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again, dear Yasin. Thank you for your support and the great picnic spot. You were so well prepared, always took care of everything and made our dream come true. We will never forget these moments and we will never forget you. Stay healthy and as cheerful as we got to know you. Kind regards from Bremen (Germany) Jessica & Brian
Wir waren vom 26.7. bis zum 05.8. mit Yassin auf Safari. Alles klappte wunderbar, von der Abholung am Flughafen bis zum Ende der Reise. Wir erfuhren von ihm unglaublich viel über Land und Menschen und Tierwelt. Er kannte sich in allen Themen, zu denen wir neugierig waren, aus. Die Gamedrives in den Naturparks waren perfekt. Wir entdeckten unendlich viele Tiere und er zeigte uns nicht nur die Tiere, die viele Touristen ausschließlich sehen wollen, sondern die so unendlich artenreiche Tierwelt. Die Serengeti war natürlich extrem eindrucksvoll. Vor allem die große Tiermigration, bei der wir Dank Yassin einen Platz in der ersten Reihe hatten. Eindrucksvoll auch die Unterkünfte dort, so nah an der Natur und voller perfekten Service. Das ist wahrer Luxus. Das Auto und auch der Transport in ihm war komfortabel. Kurz zusammengefasst: eine unglaublich eindrucksvolle, sichere, individuelle, sehr inhaltsreiche und unvergessliche Reise. Vielen vielen Dank
My family and I were so lucky that we had Hussein as our guide! He were really passionate about his work, which resulted in us learning so much about the nature we went to, seeing a lot of different animals meanwhile having a truly comfy trip where you felt safe all the timeâ˜ºï¸ I will truly recommend Hussein as a guide for your wildlife adventure ðŸ€
We spend ten days with Yasin in the Serengeti, Taranguire and Ngorongoro Crater. Yasin, our guide, was always optimally prepared and also discovered the animals that were well hidden. He kept the necessary distance and always showed consideration for the animals. We felt safe and in good hands. Thanks to Yasin we experienced a unique Safaritour that we will never forget. Jürgen and Sabine Preuß
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