- Seguku Katale. Kampala
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park isn’t popular as its neinghbours in the Northern safari circuit however has exceptional wildlife numbers for visitors that visit it. With its Rift Valley Soda Lake, deep forests, and jagged mountain slopes, It offers a wilderness experience in a variety of ecosystems. In addition to its breathtaking setting, the park is renowned for its peculiar tree-climbing lions and the large elephant herds for which it was created to safeguard.
The ultimate Lake Manyara safari will have you dwell in a place where, acacia woodlands, grassy plains, and marshes surround the lake, with opportunities to spot elephants with long tusks and lions that can climb trees. Giraffe parade in the grasslands, as buffalo, zebra, and wildebeest herds graze. What an amazing place to visit!
The distance between Lake Manyara National Park and Arusha is 126 kilometres (78 mi), and it takes an hour and a half to drive there. The Manyara Region’s capital, Babati, is also accessible from the park. Airport at Lake Manyara is nearby. The 35,399 hectares Marang Forest Reserve is located to the south, above the park, on an escarpment. The nearby Tarangire National Park to the southeast, Lake Manyara to the west, and the Engaruka Basin to the north which are all connected to one another by the Kwa Kuchinja Wildlife Migration Corridor.
The Park stretches on a total area of 325 km2 inclusive of 230 km2 of the Biosphere reserve surface of Lake Manyara with the areas within and outside the National Park along the Maranga Forest Reserve on the adjacent uplands included as the Lake Manyara important bird area. With the majority of the National Park having a land area that is narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara in the East.
With a range of attractions, including various landscapes like the Large Rift Valley, the Soda Lake, wide grasslands, dense woodlands, and wonderful gorgeous mountain sides, it offers a great amazing and unique wilderness experience. For the most part, it’s an excellent site for wildlife because of the marshes, large grasslands, and accessible lake.
Wildlife in Lake Manyara National Park
Populations of large migratory mammals that are concentrated primarily in Tarangire National Park, but also move through Lake Manyara National Park include wildebeest, zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and Grant’s gazelle. Large herds of wildebeest and other plains game from the Mto wa Mbu Game Controlled Area enter the park from the north for short periods. The other grazers here include zebra, bushbuck, waterbuck, Grant’s gazelle, impala, Thomson’s gazelle, Cape buffalo, giraffe, hippopotamus, baboon, warthog, and elephant.
Predators of Lake Manyara National Park include lion, leopard, African wild cat, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, serval, honey badger, African civet, genet (Genetta) species and several mongoose species. Cheetah and African golden cat are sighted occasionally
What to look out for while in the Park
For any traveller to Lake Manyara National Park, the tree climbing lions have been the primary attraction however the park has lot more to offer when it comes to wild life. The other forms of wild life that also exist in the National Park include the Buffalo, Cheetah, Maasai Giraffe, Baboon, Elephant, Hippo and the Impala. The animals enter the Park from the Tangier National Park with high concentrations of mammals that are as a result of the Great Annual Migration. The major mammals include the wildebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck, giraffe, hippopotamus, baboons, warthog, elephant zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, and the Grant’s gazelle. The large herds of wildebeests and other plain grazers enter Lake Manyara National Park from the north for short periods.
The Lake Manyara shores are a great home of birdlife with over 370 species of birds. Lake Manyara inhabits over 1.9 million of pink flamingos, with other birdlife also prolific. The lake also harbors water birds in abundance with different species such as the pelicans, storks, stilts, egrets and herons that are all seen close to the source however other species such as guinea fowls, crowned eagles and hornbills are spotted in the forested areas. This makes the Park a great destination for birding activities.
Vegetation in Lake Manyara National Park
Perhaps one of the best natural areas to visit, especially for people who are interested in plants, is Lake Manyara National Park. With more than 670 ferns and flowering plants, Lake Manyara has a broad range of plants. The ancient fig trees, forest toad tree, acacia, and the Phoenix palm with a distinctive vista are what this Park is most well-known for, but the park also boasts wide grasslands with lovely views. The rivers that originate from the escarpments that make up Lake Manyara National Park are supported by thick, evergreen ground water forests by perennial springs that are located below the Rift Valley wall.
Other features at the Park
Beyond only viewing wildlife, Lake Manyara National Park has a lot more to offer. You may be granted the chance to see some of the useful features that this national park is renowned for hosting. The park’s features, including the acacia forests, a ground water forest, and the well-known hot springs known as the Majji Moto, make a safari to Lake Manyara an amazing experience. Expect to witness groups of hundreds of olive baboons on your safari, along with sykes monkeys and short-eared galagos. The Egyptian mongoose, hippo, cape clawless otter, and klipspringer are some of the other animals that live in the park.
Best time to Visit the Park – Lake Manyara experience January – March
After the brief rains, the surroundings are lush and verdant. It’s fairly dry throughout January and February. Flamingos and other migratory birds are present around this time.
With an average high temperature of 28°C/82°F, this is the hottest time of year in the park. 15°C/59°F is the usual low. The long rains start in March, but there may be a few rains in January and February.
The dry season in Lake Manyara is Usually between June and October. This is also the most preferable season to go on safaris in the park since the foliage is clear and spotting wildlife is much easier compared to the rainy seasons.
