Lake Manyara National Park has the advantage of being near Arusha and as its surface area is relatively small (330 km²), you can only spend half a day there when arriving or leaving. But there is plenty to spend whole days there. The zoo fauna is particularly interesting there, with hornbills of all species, martins, bee-eaters. There are very beautiful large trees, mahogany, ficus, “classic” baobabs with wide and thick trunks or much more slender ones (a bit in the style of Malagasy baobabs). This park is known for its lions perched in the acacia trees and for its numerous elephants. A large lake occupies a large part of it which allows you to observe all the shore fauna, from the flamingo to the pelican, including lapwings, sandpipers, avocets, stilts and others. Since 2004, it has been possible during certain periods to canoe on the lake.
This park more than compensates for its small size with the beauty and variety of its landscapes as well as the richness of its fauna. This original space is well known for its concentrations of buffalo, its beautiful herds of elephants, but above all for the particularity of lions resting in the trees. The birds of the park deserve special attention; an attentive observer will count more than 200 species , the most numerous and perhaps the most beautiful of which is the pink flamingo. Best time to visit: all year round (from Arusha, allow 3 hours drive or 1 hour charter flight).
In conclusion, a park which we can do without, but which it would be a shame to neglect if we like birds and flora, the unusually very slender baobabs (a bit like those of Madagascar) which grow on the hillside are remarkable.
