LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

OVERVIEW

Lake Manyara National Park’s main attraction are the lions which climb onto the acacia tree branches. The waters of Lake Manyara occupy 230 square kilometers of the 330 square kilometers of the park. The park contains a large variety of habitats such as the rift valley wall, the ground water forest, acacia woodland and areas of open grassland, thus being able to support a large number of species of flora and fauna. Lake Manyara National Park which is surrounded by the Great Rift Valley accommodates over 3 million flamingos. More than 60,000 tourists visit this park annually who mainly arrive from Europe, America, Scandinavian countries, and South Africa.

The Park has a wedge of surprisingly varied vegetation that sustains a wealth of wildlife, nourished by chattering streams bubbling out of the escarpment base and waterfalls spilling over the cliff. Cradled in the glory of its surroundings bellow the sheer majesty of the rift valley wall, Lake Manyara lies serene, spreading in a heat haze and backed by a thin green band of forest and 600 meters of sheer red and brown cliffs of the escarpment. Acacia woodland where the famous tree climbing lions like to climb also shelters these elusive animals along with the squadrons of mongoose who feast of the trail of buffalos and elephants, which is the most populous pachyderm in Tanzania per square kilometer.