Manyara National Park & Lake
Manyara Lake & National Park
The Lake Manyara National Park is located just south of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Arusha Region on the northern circuit. Most of the National park runs in a narrow strip between the Gregory Rift wall at the west and Lake Nayara to the east. The park is 330km of arid land & forest alongside an alkaline/soda-lake which spreads over 200km squared during the wet season, and almost nonexistent during the dry season.
The Manyara Lake is known for its population of flamingos that make the Lake their home. During the wet season, the Edges of the lake host thousands of birds but there are very few during the dry season. The Manyara National Park is know particularly for the its bird watching and visitors can expect to potentially see up to 400 species of birds (could be 100 per day) that inhabit the park and remain throught the year. Other than birds you can expect to see Cheetahs, Leopards, Lions (which are known to lounge in the trees), Elephants, Dik-DIk, Blue Monkeys, Gazelles, Hippos, Impala, Zebras & Maasai Giraffe. The hippo pond towards the end of the park is known for the fact that visitors can get out of their cars and view the Hippos at a safe distance.