Welcome to Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania’s smaller and most underrated parks. While it may lack the size and variety of other northern-circuit destinations (there's pretty much one main north–south route through the park), its vegetation is diverse, ranging from savannah to marsh to evergreen forest (11 ecosystems in all) and it supports one of the highest biomass densities of large mammals in the world. The chance to see elephant families moving through the forest or Lake Manyara's famous population of tree-climbing lions (although sighting them is becoming increasingly rare) are alone reason enough to come.
Top experiences in Lake Manyara National Park
Travel guides
Starting at $36.39
Lake Manyara National Park activities
8-Day Best of Kenya and Tanzania Safari from Nairobi
Day 1 Pick up from your hotel or residency within Nairobi CBD. Start your safari to Maasai Mara at 8:30 a.m. Stop over at the Rift Valley viewpoint at 10 a.m. to see the escarpments and the flat lands below. The Rift Valley is a geographical formation that formed millions of years ago and runs from the top to bottom of Africa. Eat lunch in Narok town at 12 p.m. Arrive in Maasai Mara at 3 p.m. Take an evening game safari drive at 4 p.m for 2 hours. Eat dinner and end your day at your lodging at the Lenchada Tourist Camp, which includes a big tent with a bed, toilet, hot running water, and shower. All food is served at the restaurant there, and a generator is provided to charge phones and cameras at night. Day 2 At 7:30 a.m., start a full-day game drive all the way to the Mara River, the site of the great wildebeest migration. Eat a picnic lunch in the park at 1 p.m. Complete the game drive and return to your accommodation at 4 p.m. In the evening, visit a Masai village to learn more about their culture for an hour. Eat dinner and enjoy free time in the evening. Day 3 Eat breakfast at 7 a.m. Take a morning game drive for 2 hours and exit through the South Gate. Drive to the Isebania border of Tanzania to arrive around midday. Complete the hour-long process to cross the Tanzania border. Meet your Tanzanian driver/guide and chef. Start the game drive in Serengeti en route to the accommodation. Eat dinner and relax. Here you sleep in tents that you will be provided with. You will also be offered a sleeping bag. The camp area is very safe and protected by armed guards and other tourists from other companies will be joining us. All meals are included in the Tanzania safari and will be made by the private chef traveling with you. Day 4 Breakfast at 7 a.m. Full-day game drive in Serengeti and picnic lunch at 1 p.m., then back to the base camp at 4 p.m. for dinner by our chef. Day 5 Depart Serengeti at 7 a.m. Game drive en route to Ngorongoro Park. Evening camping at Ngorongoro Crater at the Simba campsite. Day 6Full-day tour of Ngorongoro that begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Depart to drive and spend the night at Lake Manyara National Park's Alsamo campsite. Day 7Early morning half-day game drive in Lake Manyara National Park that begins at 7 a.m. Depart for Arusha and arrive around 4 p.m. Check-in at the Charity Hotel for a relaxing dinner. Bed and breakfast are all included. Day 8 Eat breakfast at 6:30 a.m., and then depart for Nairobi with a morning luxury shuttle that departs at 7 a.m. Arrive around 3 p.m. in Nairobi. Onward drop off to your hotel or residency within Nairobi CBD.
6-Day Tanzania Camping Safari: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Cater and Tarangire National Park from Arusha
Day 1: You'll be picked up from your hotel in Arusha at 09:00 and depart for Tarangire National Park for a picnic lunch and game drive. Overnight at Zion Campsite or similar. (L, D)Day 2: After breakfast, depart for Serengeti National Park, with an en-route game drive. Have a picnic lunch and a short afternoon game drive in Serengeti Park. Overnight at Seronera Campsite or similar. (B, L, D)Day 3: After breakfast full you'll have a full day in Serengeti National Park, with early morning, mid-day and afternoon game drives. Overnight at Seronera Campsite or similar. (B, L, D)Day 4: Take an early morning game drive in Serengeti National Park, have brunch and depart for Ngorongoro Crater Rim. There will be an en-route game drive. Overnight at Simba Campsite or similar. (B, L, D)Day 5: Have an early breakfast, then descend onto the crater floor for game drive. Have lunch at hippo pool picnic site, then ascend to the rim and depart for Lake Manyara. Overnight at Jambo Campsite or similar. (B, L, D)Day 6: After breakfast, there will be a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Have a picnic lunch, then depart mid-afternoon for Arusha and a drop-off at your hotel. (B, L)
Lake Manyara Guided Day Tour from Arusha
Pickup from your hotel in Arusha at 7am and enjoy a spectacular one-day trip that includes wildlife-viewing and an opportunity to learn about the everyday lives of Tanzanian villagers. On the edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is small, but its diverse eco-systems pack in a huge variety of animal and bird life. It is rightly famous for its tree-climbing lions, but also for its boisterous baboons! A riot of color is provided by the bird life here, and your day trip also includes a village tour of Mto wa Mbu. Set amidst phenomenal landscape, you search out the wildlife on the plains and in the acacia woodlands, not forgetting the shores of the shallow alkaline lake itself. Although this is a small park, with much of it underwater, it is a varied environment with characteristic fig and mahogany trees prevalent here. You might spot Lake Manyara's renowned tree-climbing lions, but you could easily find elephant, hippo, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffe, plus many other species. A splash of color will be added by the pink-hued flamingos, one of 400 bird species recorded here. Also present are spoonbills, stilts, egrets, pelicans, cormorants and yellow-billed storks.
Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater 4 days safari from Arusha town
Day 1 – Arusha – Lake Manya ra Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Lake Manyara national park. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch do we head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive. The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake. Dinner and overnight at LAKE MANYARA SAFARI LODGE Day 2 – Lake Manyara – Serengeti P lains. After breakfast we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti national park. Dinner and overnight at WILDLIFE LODGE SERONERA Day 3 – Serengeti Plains . This is your full day in the park with packed lunch. The big five are spotted this day and thousands of wildbeasts and zebras. Return for dinner and overnight. Day 4 – Ngorongoro crater to Arusha After breakfast at the lodge do we depart to Ngorongoro Conservation area. You will proceed to the crater for wildlife view. Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually been seen here. You will later proceed to arusha town arriving late in the afternoon. This marks the end of your trip.
MEMORABLE DAY TRIP - LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
In the morning you will be picking up from the Hotel, and you will deliver a short safari info briefing, after which the travel start to the Great Rift Valley and the Lake Manyara National Park. We will travel through the agricultural and fresh produce market town of Mto Wa Mbu, which is situated next to the entrance of the Lake Manyara National Park. The town is a souvenir hunters paradise, harboring thousands souvenir salesmen – ready to pounce at your slightest invitation. The Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located African wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment. The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s densely populated African elephants herds, Lake Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos, attracted by the algae in the lake. We will enjoy a picnic lunch inside the park and do two exciting morning and afternoon game drives, in search of the tree-climbing lions. Late afternoon we depart for Arusha or Moshi from Lake Manyara where we will end our safari adventure.
Taste of Tanzania Safari - 8 Days
Day 1: ArushaOn arrival at Kilimanjaro Int. Airport, you will be met by your guide and transferred to Arusha for dinner and overnight.Day 2: Arusha – Lake Manyara National ParkAfter breakfast, depart for Lake Manyara National Park with lunch box en-route. You can see many game animals such as buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala, hippo and others. Enjoy an afternoon of game viewing in search of the famous but rare tree climbing lion. Dinner and overnight in lodge or tented camp.Day 3: Lake Manyara Area – Ngorongoro Conservation AreaThrough the Crater Forest and over the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, descent onto the crater floor to emerge into this fishbowl of wildlife. On the grass steppe and in the acacia tree woods, you will find almost all species that are found in the East African savannah, with of course the “Big Five”. Return to the crater rim or highlands for dinner and overnight in a lodge or tented camp.Day 4: Ngorongoro – Serengeti National ParkThe vast extensions of the Serengeti plains before you will impress you and wanting you to explore this area in deep. You will find wildebeest and zebras and often lions and other big cats such as leopards and cheetahs. The Migration, consisting of around 2 million animals, is on the move all year round. Depending on the season you may see this impressive phenomenon you may be able to see a band of lionesses gather for a hunt. Dinner and overnight in a tented lodge, luxury tents in the middle of the bush.Day 5: Serengeti National ParkYou enjoy further exploration of the endless plains. The habitats are natural and we can game drive with a picnic lunch to explore further afield. Dinner and overnight in the same accommodation.Day 6: Serengeti National ParkA welcome change in your schedule is to take part in an early morning game drive before returning for lunch and resting. In the afternoon, you set off to see the nocturnal animals beginning their night’s work. Dinner, campfire and overnight for your last night in the Serengeti…Day 7: Serengeti National Park – Olduvai Gorge – Tarangire AreaA leisurely game drive out of the Serengeti takes you to the Olduvai Gorge. Enjoy a picnic lunch and a view of the archaeological sites where early human tools and fossils have been found. We set off into the direction of Tarangire National Park and arrive at our lodge or tented camp for sunset. Dinner and overnight.Day 8: Tarangire National Park – ArushaLast but not least, a visit to the impressive Tarangire National Park. Majestic baobab trees are an interesting feature of the park, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. Full game drive with lunch box, then continuation to Arusha for your flight home or further destination.