Lake Manyara National Park is a Tanzanian national park located both in Arusha Region and Manyara Region, Tanzania. The two administrative regions have no jurisdiction
over the parks. The park is governed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority.
The majority of the land area of the park is a narrow strip running between
the Gregory
Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, an alkaline or soda-lake, to the east.
The park consists of 330 km2 (130 sq mi)
of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 (77 sq mi) of land during the wet season but is nearly
nonexistent during the dry season.
Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they
inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so
present during the dry season.
More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain
throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot
for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100
different species of bird on any day. Leopards, Masai
lions, cheetahs, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelles, hippopotami, Masai
giraffe, impala, zebras and
many more wild animals inhabit this park and many can be seen throughout the
year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out
of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both
known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.
Lake Manyara National Park is located 126 km
(78 mi) south west of Arusha and
can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The park can also be reached
easily from Babatithe capital of Manyara Region. The park is also very close to Tarangire National
Park There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.
