Things to do in Lake Manyara National Park
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lake Manyara National Park
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long dry season: best mammal viewing, firm tracks, peak prices, busy northern tracks in the mornings.
Short dry season: hot, balanced window with good viewing, migrant birds and fewer vehicles than mid year.
Short rains: green park, waterfalls, migrant birds and value, with slippery tracks after rain.
Long rains: most scenic and cheapest, best birds, but flooding, dispersed mammals and possible access problems.
Best things to do in Lake Manyara National Park
Groundwater Forest
Spring fed evergreen forest at the park gate, with baboon troops, blue monkeys and elephants moving between mahogany trees.
Lake Manyara
A shallow soda lake under the Rift wall, where flamingos and other waterbirds gather in numbers only when conditions allow.
Acacia Woodland
Open acacia and floodplain south of the forest, for giraffe, buffalo and elephants, and a patient search for lions in trees.
Maji Moto Hot Springs
Steaming hot springs at the far south of the park, one of the few places you may leave the vehicle and stand on the Rift geology.
Silale Swamp
A permanent freshwater swamp in the quiet south, holding hippos, buffalo and wading birds whatever the soda lake is doing.
Endabash Waterfall
The escarpment waterfall and river in the park south, beside the walking camp and marking the water system that feeds the forest.
Lake Manyara Viewpoint
The free escarpment overlook that explains the whole park in one frame: Rift wall, forest strip, floodplain and lake below.
Mto Wa Mbu Cultural Tourism Enterprises
The community run village programme: banana plantations, rice fields, carvers, market and a home cooked plantation lunch.
Where to stay in Lake Manyara National Park
Inside the park, south
quiet south, night drives and walking
The only permanent lodge and the walking camp sit in the southern park, past the day trip crowds.
Rift Valley Escarpment
the lake view and circuit convenience
The big view lodges line the cliff edge above the park, a short drive down to the gate each morning.
Mto wa Mbu and the gate
price, town life and the shortest gate run
Tented camps, safari workhorses and genuine budget beds at the foot of the wall, minutes from the entrance.
Best restaurants in Lake Manyara National Park
andBeyond Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
Guests only lodge dining and boma meals in the mahogany forest, with an interactive kitchen and elephants passing the decks.
Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge
The escarpment lodge dining room and terrace, where recent guests rate the food a strength and the lake is the view.
Kirurumu Manyara Lodge
Waiter served, not buffet, dining in a small room over the Rift Valley, from the escarpment camp with the praised bar.
Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge
An escarpment edge restaurant with theme nights and local farm produce, eating in front of the full Rift Valley view.
Mto Wa Mbu Cultural Tourism Enterprises
The plantation lunch is the best cheap meal here: pilau, makande and plantains cooked by local mamas, eaten with your guide.
Mto wa Mbu Market
Market stalls and main road grills for fruit, roasted maize, chips and grilled meat at local prices, in daylight hours.
Outdoor things to do in Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara Treetop Walkway
Suspension bridges through the groundwater forest canopy near the gate, about an hour at up to roughly 18 metres up.
Lake Manyara Night Game Drive
A permitted TANAPA night drive with authorised operators, for bushbabies, porcupines, grazing hippos and cats on the move.
Canoeing on Lake Manyara
Canoe safaris on the lake shore under the escarpment, a listed TANAPA activity that runs only when water levels allow it.
Lake Manyara Walking Safari
Short ranger led walks on foot, arranged through the in park camp and lodges, where tracks and forest birds get names.
Balaa Hill
A local guide climb up the Rift wall from Mto wa Mbu, past farms and old baobabs, to views over town, lake and steppe.
Marang Forest
Highland escarpment forest walks from the in park camp, for cooler air, big trees and forest birding above the park south.
Best hotels in Lake Manyara National Park
andBeyond Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
Nine stilted treehouse suites in a mahogany forest, the only permanent lodge inside the park, with night drives and quiet south.
Wayo Manyara Green Camp
Eight deck tents by Endabash Waterfall, a walking first camp with ranger walks, night drives and canoeing when levels allow.
Escarpment Luxury Lodge Manyara
Large escarpment chalets with private decks, a rim flow pool and spa, and the lake spread out directly below the lodge.
Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge
A 50 room rim lodge toward Karatu, with villas, fireplaces, a rim flow pool and spa, handy for Manyara and Ngorongoro days.
Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge
Sixty seven rondavel rooms along the cliff edge by the airstrip, around a vanishing edge pool with the whole lake below.
Kirurumu Manyara Lodge
Twenty seven tented rooms on the escarpment ridge, with waiter served dining, a famed bar view and botanical walks from camp.
Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge
One hundred rooms on the escarpment edge, every one with a verandah over the park and lake, plus an edge of cliff restaurant.
Lake Manyara Tortilis Camp
Lake facing safari tents at the foot of the escarpment, warmly reviewed for staff and food, with wildlife around camp.
Is Lake Manyara National Park expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TZS 350,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TZS 1,000,000 a person |
| Splurge | TZS 2,800,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lake Manyara Treetop Walkway: a few days ahead
- Lake Manyara Night Game Drive: a few days ahead
- Canoeing on Lake Manyara: a few days ahead
- Lake Manyara Walking Safari: a few days ahead
- Marang Forest: weeks ahead
- andBeyond Lake Manyara Tree Lodge: months ahead
- Wayo Manyara Green Camp: weeks ahead
- Escarpment Luxury Lodge Manyara: weeks ahead
- Book the Tree Lodge, the green camp and Kirurumu months ahead for June to October and late December.
- Confirm walkway, canoe, walking and night drive activities in writing a few days before, not on the morning.
- Get park fee days and in park concession nights itemised in any quote that claims fees are included.
Is Lake Manyara National Park safe?
- Malaria is present year round at the low park floor; prophylaxis decisions belong to your doctor or travel clinic.
- Tsetse flies in the forest bite hard; wear neutral colours, long sleeves and repellent, and avoid dark blue and black.
- Same-sex conduct is criminalised in Tanzania, and terrorism risk in the country is most common in the far southern Mtwara Region, far from Manyara.
- Do not drive the escarpment road at night, and leave spare time in the long rains when tracks and the gate approach can flood.
Lake Manyara National Park travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Buying Manyara as a two to three hour add on and judging it by its busiest northern tracks at the busiest hour.
- Day trip listings that bundle canoe and walkway as guaranteed, when each has its own conditions and fees.
- Building a trip on a pink flamingo shoreline or a lion in a tree; both are conditional and currently less reliable.
Getting around Lake Manyara National Park: public transport and more
- About 126 km by paved road from Arusha to the main gate by Mto wa Mbu, roughly two hours in normal conditions.
- Scheduled light aircraft serve Lake Manyara Airstrip, about 25 to 30 minutes from Arusha Airport.
- Inside the park your operator 4x4 and driver guide are the transport; there is no fuel in the park.
Who Lake Manyara National Park suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Lake Manyara National Park your trip
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