Lake Manyara is a well-known and easily accessible park that continues to captivate visitors with its remarkable biodiversity and abundant wildlife.

The park’s diverse habitats include the expansive shallow soda lake, which covers about 70% of its area, as well as lush groundwater forests, open grasslands, acacia woodlands, and the dramatic Rift Valley escarpment.

One of Lake Manyara’s most renowned attractions is its tree-climbing lions, occasionally spotted lounging on the branches of acacia trees. The park is also home to a variety of other wildlife, including buffalo, elephants, leopards, baboons, impalas, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, ostriches, and hippos.

Often referred to as an ornithologist’s paradise, Lake Manyara National Park hosts over 400 bird species that thrive in East Africa’s savannah and riverine habitats. Among the many water birds found here are pelicans, spoonbills, Egyptian geese, hamerkops, and vast flocks of migratory flamingos, which arrive in their hundreds of thousands—transforming the soda lake into one of Africa’s most breathtaking natural spectacles.

Despite being less crowded than its more famous counterparts, many visitors consider Lake Manyara their favorite park in Northern Tanzania!