"Lake Manyara - Safari Gem of the Rift... " a Lake Manyara National Park Travel Page by jackfruit

Lake Manyara National Park is situated in the Rift Valley area of Northeastern Tanzania and about a 3 hour drive (200 kms) from Arusha. The National Park has spectacular wildlife to view. The landscape varies with the terrain here - from the rift escarpment to the lake. In the tall trees of the ground water forest monkeys leap from branch to branch, on the slope of the escarpment elephants stand in the shade of a baobab. In the acacia woodland lions lie draped along the branches of umbrella trees, in the pools along the lake shore the hippos wallow, and in the lake itself wade colorful flamingos.

From Arusha, the last village you pass through before approaching the National Park is Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito Creek). It's a quiet little village with a few shops, houses, etc. There are a few hotels here that you can stay at for your safari, but I recommend the Lake Manyara Hotel situated on the rift escarpment. From here, you climb uphill past the park gate, to get to the main safari hotels (touristy but of better quality than those found in Mto). The rift valley wall looms ahead of you and the drive is simply spectacular with the mosaic of the Lake Manyara National Park spread below you.

Spread out over approximately 330 square kilometers, the Lake Manyara National park is a great place to visit. In a day trip to the park, you have the opportunity to view a lot of varied wildlife, from monkeys to flamingos. We werent lucky enough to see the rare tree climbing lions that this park is famous for, but everything else was there to be seen and photographed!