Lake Manyara National Park exists a mere hour and a half drive from the town of Arusha, between the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara.

Although shallow in terms of depth, Lake Manyara has been referred to by author Ernest Hemingway as one of the loveliest lakes in all of Africa. It features as part of the breathtaking landscape of the national park, and expands and contracts in the wet and dry season, due to the salt deposits found at the base of it. The lake is accompanied by an evergreen forest, acacia woodlands, and a backdrop wall of the Rift Valley rocky escarpment.

Other notable features include a hippo pool found at the northern end of the lake, and two hot springs; one being the 60 degrees Celsius “Maji Moto” thermal hot spring, receiving its high temperature through underground water from volcanic magma rocks of the Great Rift Valley. There is also a tree canopy walk way, which is built across 360 meters of the park, and a perfect opportunity to experience the park from outside a vehicle, amongst the trees and 400 bird species.

As well as the countless bird species, the national park is known for its unique tree climbing lions, large families of playful baboons (there can be up to 200 in a group), the many flocks of pelicans and bright pink flamingos, and one of the biggest concentration of elephant populations in Tanzania. Which are all found within the blossoming 670 species of flowering plant and fern species.

Interesting facts