The name ‘Manyara’ comes from the Maasai word emanyara and appropriately references a spiky, protective succulent tree used to corral livestock. With an area of 330 square kilometers, roughly as big as the island of Malta, it lies between the sheer cliffs of the Great Rift Valley in the west and the massive alkaline lake in the east. As such, it offers the most complex and tightly packed groundwater forest ecosystem on earth.
Lake Manyara National Park is undoubtedly the most ecologically diverse wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequaled for its varied habitats and dramatic scenic value. With more than three hundred baboons in a single troop, giant tuskers hidden in the bush, and thousands of pink flamingos painting the shoreline, it has the greatest concentration of distinct biomes in Africa.
Explore the Manyara, a compact and vibrant wilderness that plays host to the famous tree-climbing lions, one of the most enigmatic spectacles of the natural world. Witness elusive leopards, massive hippo pools, and other magnificent species as they traverse the dense mahogany forests and brave the hot springs of Maji Moto.
Even when the lake waters rise or recede Manyara has the most spectacular bird watching in Africa, with silvery-cheeked hornbills, flocks of pelicans, agile martial eagles and thousands upon thousands of storks, ibises, cormorants, herons, egrets, and specialty migratory varieties.
