Lake Manyara National park stretches from 50km along the base of the rusty – gold 600m high Great Rift Valley Escarpment. Lake Manyara is a scenic gem as written by Ernest Hemingway –“ the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
As visitors enter the gate they pass into the high forest, home to troops of baboons and both blue and vervet monkeys. Further along the forest opens up into woodland, grassland, swamps and beyond the soda lake itself. Covering 200km2 it is sanctuary to over 400 species of birds including flamingo, pelican, storks, ibis, cormorant and Egyptian geese. The park is particularly noted for its huge herds of buffaloes and elephants. Also giraffes, hippos, reedbuck, warthog, wildebeest, zebras and a great variety of smaller animals can be seen. It is an ideal park to start your safari.
Getting there: A 2 hours drive en route to nearby Ngorongoro Crater or ½ hour flight from Arusha