Located in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania, Lake Manyara is the centrepiece of the Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is a soda lake and its 230km² surface covers two thirds of the park’s total area.
Designated as a national park in 1960, Lake Manyara National Park is home to a diverse range of stunning landscapes, including marshland, dense acacia woodland, and steep rocky slopes.
Lake Manyara National Park is famous for housing vast flocks of flamingos, tree-climbing lions, and one of the highest concentrations of elephants in all of Tanzania.
Lake Manyara is part of the northern circuit of national parks in Tanzania. A popular route is to start in Arusha and visit Lake Manyara before continuing to Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and finishing your adventure at Arusha. These attractions can be combined as part of a 5-6 day itinerary.
Although Lake Manyara National Park does not contain as much wildlife as its bigger sisters, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, scientists believed that Lake Manyara contained one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa during the 1980s.