Visit Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake at the base of the western stretches of the Rift Valley Escarpment.

It glitters in the sun and is often covered in cloud upon cloud of pink lesser flamingos. In the deeper areas of the lake small pods of hippo bask, ears flickering, with egrets resting on their backs.

Surrounding the lake is a particularly pretty park with a variety of habitats, including grassy floodplains, groundwater forest, acacia woodland and the rocky base of the escarpment.

Wildlife in Lake Manyara National Park

The park has excellent game densities and is perhaps best known for its tree-climbing lion, often found sprawled in the branches of sausage trees. There are big troops of olive baboon and blue monkeys, prolific elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe and zebra as well as a whole host of smaller animals.

Birdlife in the park is superb, with almost 400 species recorded. There are iridescent bee-eaters, silvery-cheeked hornbills and on the lake you’ll often find white pelicans as well as the flocks of flamingo.