This Lake Manyara day trip can start from Arusha or Moshi. This 1-day safari to Lake Manyara national park offers a perfect opportunity to wildlife enthusiasts who would like to go on a short Tanzania safari break to the bush.
Although it is Tanzania’s smallest park, Lake Manyara national park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. The beautiful Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park, while the rest consists of steep mountainside, swamps, dense woodlands, open grassy areas, and hot springs.
Lake Manyara is one of the many alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley. It was formed about three million years ago and is quite shallow, with an average depth of about three metres. The lake attracts hundreds of bird species. In high vegetation near the park entrance, baboons and blue monkeys chatter incessantly between the heady shrills of cicada.
More than 350 species of birdlife may be found around the Lake Manyara ecosystem – including pelicans, Egyptian geese, ducks, waders, herons, storks, grebes, ibises, kingfishers, and the flamingos. The extraordinary concentration of birdlife has made this place world-renowned among ornithologists.
Lake Manyara national park is famed for its unique tree-climbing lions, which can occasionally be sighted in the lower branches of acacia and other shade trees, sprawling lazily in the afternoon heat, escaping the glare of the sun amidst the foliage.
What to Expect on this Lake Manyara Day Trip
At 7:00 am in the morning, your driver will meet you at your hotel in Arusha town for your day trip to Lake Manyara national park, located 125kms south of Arusha (2 hour drive); Lake Manyara national park can be accessed on a good tarmac road all the way to the park entry gate.
You will spend the rest of the day on a game drive exploring the different parts of the park. Lake Manyara is one of the most diverse of Tanzania’s national parks, a tiny (325km²) combination of Rift Valley Lake, dense woodlands and steep mountainside.
Manyara is a birding paradise (more than 380 species), especially for waterfowl and migrants and the forests are one of the best places around to see leopards.
Lions hunt on the grassy shores of the lake and were once known for their habit of climbing trees, although this behavior seems to have been dropped in recent years.
The park can easily be seen in a day. Most visitors will tailor a day visit to Manyara to fit in with a trip to one of the Big Three parks (Serengeti, Tarangire, and Ngorongoro).
Lunch is included during this tour. Your day trip to Lake Manyara national park ends with a return to Arusha town, arriving at approximately 6:00 pm.
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