Haunt of the famous tree-climbing lions

At a glance

Area: 325 sq kms of which approximately one-third is land, the remainder being part of Lake Manyara.

Location: 120 kms south-west of Arusha.

Altitude: 960-1,478 m

Vegetation: A northern ground-water forest fed by springs from the Rift Valley escarpment gives way to yellow fever trees, alkaline grasslands and eventually coarse sedges at the lake shore. There are baobabs on the valley walls.

Fauna: The Park is famous for its spectacular tree-climbing lions and also offers; monkey, jackal, mongoose, hyena, hyrax, elephant, rhino, leopard, zebra, hippo, warthog, buffalo, Masai giraffe, duiker, waterbuck and impala.  

Birds: 487 species have been recorded. 

Wildlife highlights: The Park is famous for its spectacular tree-climbing lions and also offers; monkey, jackal, mongoose, hyena, hyrax, elephant, rhino, leopard, zebra, hippo, warthog, buffalo, Masai giraffe, duiker, waterbuck and impala. Birds: Manyara is noted for its wealth of bird life, which includes many thousands of flamingoes as well as pelican, yellow-billed stork and white-necked cormorant.  

Activities: Canoeing and boating on the lake (water levels permitting), forest walks, mountain biking, cultural tours, abseiling off the escarpment.

Best time: Dry season (July-October) for large mammals, wet season (November-June) for bird watching, the waterfalls and canoeing.

Getting there: By road, charter or scheduled flight from Arusha, en-route to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. 

Accommodation: One luxury tented camp, public bandas and campsites inside the park; 1 luxury tented camp and 2 lodges perched on the Rift Wall; guest houses and campsites in nearby town.

Overview

Established primarily to protect the alkaline waters of Lake Manyara, this small park offers some of the finest wildlife and ornithology in Tanzania. Dramatically placed at the foot of the towering walls of the Mto wa Mbu Escarpment and fringed by a narrow band of forest, it lies in a hollow at the base of the western wall of the Great Rift Valley. Typically hazy, it is often fringed by thousands of sugar pink flamingos. Including a substantial portion of the lake and its shores, the park features large areas of ground-water forest that is characterized by giant fig and mahogany trees alternating with acacia woodland and open grasslands. The name is derived from the Maasai word for the Euphorbia tirucalli bush, which the tribesmen plant as a living stockade to keep their cattle from straying.

Wildlife and ornithology

Although it covers an area of only 318sq km, the park’s terrain is so diverse that its mammal and bird lists are some of the most impressive in Tanzania. As to wildlife, the park offers abundant sightings of; monkey, jackal, mongoose, hyena, hyrax, zebra, hippo, warthog, buffalo, Masai giraffe, duiker, waterbuck and impala. Significant numbers of elephant are also resident in the Park whilst sightings of black rhino and leopard are not uncommon.           

Manyara is also especially noted for its wealth of bird life, being visited by many thousands of sugar-pink Lesser Flamingos, significant numbers of Greater Flamingos and a host of other woodland, plains and water birds.

The famous tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara

As the heat shimmers over the lake, entire prides of lion can be seen lolling in the branches of the acacia trees. An unusual habit for lions, which usually prefer to remain hidden in the thick savannah where they have a better chance of hunting their prey, no one is exactly sure why they do it. Some say it is so that they might avoid the head and flies, others that it gives them a better vantage point from which to hunt. 

About the area

Lake Manyara is adjacent to the colourful market town of Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito Creek) where several tribes converge to form a linguistic mix that is the richest in Africa. The Mgubwe, Iraqw, Gorowa, Irangi, Tatoga, Chagga and Maasai have used Mto wa Mbu as a trading post for centuries and it is the only place on the continent where you can hear the four major African language groups, Bantu, Khoisan, Cushitic and Nilotic spoken in the same area.