About Lake Manyara National Park

The setting for the earliest Tarzan films, verdant Lake Manyara National Park was once described as Ernest Hemingway as “The loveliest I have seen in Africa”.

Lake Manyara National Park is an unspoiled paradise of ground water forest fed by underground springs. The park is teeming with wildlife such as elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, and some of the largest baboon troupes in Africa.

But it’s most iconic attraction is undoubtedly its tree-climbing lions, and people flock from all over the world to see these iconic predators lounging in the trees.

Lake Manyara NP Fact File

Location: Approximately ninety minutes’ drive from Arusha.
To Do: Game drives, canoe safaris, cultural tours, mountain biking, abseiling, and forest walks.
Known For: Africa’s largest concentration of elephants, tree-climbing lions, and flamingoes.

Best Time to Visit Lake Manyara National Park

Game-viewing is at its best between July and October, while bird-watchers will find the best conditions between November and June.

Check our Lake Manyara Tanzania safaris

Park Highlights

Wildlife & Africa’s Largest Concentration of Elephants

While neighbouring Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara is home to Tanzania’s largest elephant population. You also find Africa’s largest concentration of elephants. When it comes to spotting elephants in the wild, you’ll find few places that can compete with elephants.

In addition to these giants, the park also offers excellent opportunities to see mongooses, the adorable Kirk’s dik-dik, hippos, buffaloes, antelopes, gazelles, and large troupes of baboons.

Tree-Climbing Lions

The lions of Lake Manyara National Park are a rarity among their own kind. They are the only lions in the world to regularly climb trees and use them as places as rest. Only Uganda’s Ruwenzori National Park shares this distinction.

Lucky photographers will get the chance to spot and photograph these beautiful creatures perched on the branches of acacia trees. Zoologists aren’t quite sure just why the lions here have developed this interesting habit. However, visitors to the park are the ones who benefit – seeing such unique behaviour from such beautiful creatures.

Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara is an isolated lake subject to intense evaporation during the dry season.  It is a slightly salty and home to hippopotamus, flamingoes, and a large variety of aquatic life. Despite its salt content, it is safe for animals to drink and is a popular watering hole for the park’s animal population.

During the wet season, Lake Manyara swells to a sizable body of water perfect for guided canoe safaris. During the dry season, it can shrink to such a small size that it is almost possible to walk across it.

When water is present, it is possible to see klipspringer, rock hyrax, and porcupines by the lake’s edge. You can also find a wide variety of birds including Ruppel’s Griffon, Verreaux’s Eagle, the Augur Buzzard, the Peregrine Falcon, and an abundance of flamingoes.

Mto Wa Mbu Village

Located not far from the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park is a local farming and market village known as Mto We Mbu. The town is perfectly situated for souvenir shopping or for a glimpse into the day to day life of the Tanzanian people.

On market days, farmers from all over the region come together to show off their wares in this dynamic melting pot of cultures and personalities.

Termite Mounds

Among the most eye-catching features of Lake Manyara National Park are the towering termite mounds that dot the landscape. These impressive structures are the work for tiny yet industrious insects known as termites. Working in huge colonies, these creatures construct remarkably strong and sophisticated mounds to act as homes to protect their queen.

Not content with this level of engineering, the termites also cultivate fungus in special chambers within their colony. While much of this fascinating, work takes place where the naked eye can’t see it. The spires and castles the termites build are quite amazing to see.

Flamingos

For several months of the year, thousands of flamingos call Lake Manyara home. This is due to the microscopic algae that they feed on in it’s alkaline waters. Lake Manyara is arguably the best place in Tanzania to see these huge flocks of brightly coloured birds.

Maji Moto Springs

As you wind your way down a bumpy, dusty roads through the desert land surrounding Lake Manyara National Park, it might seem unlikely that something as beautiful and relaxing as Maji Moto could exist out here. Yet when the oasis comes into view, it’s all worth the long drive.

Maji Moto (Swahili for hot water) is a natural spring with palm and fig trees surrounding it. This isolated paradise has crystal clear waters, sun-dappled shady picnic spots, and unmatched beauty. Maji Moto is not so much a hot springs as it is a warm springs. A perfect place for a swim and a picnic lunch.

In recent years, industrious locals have also set up a small restaurant and bathroom facilities at the site.

Check more on Wikipedia.

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About Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s most famous national park deserving of its fame. The home of the world-famous Great Wildebeest Migration, the Serengeti National Park is consistently ranked as one of the best national parks in the entire world.

While it is the farthest of the northern circuit parks from Arusha, the Serengeti is often the first inclusion on any safari itinerary. With its sweeping savanna plains, towering rocky hills, and seemingly unending skies – the Serengeti is as much a stunning landscape as it is a place to see Africa’s most iconic animals.

And see them you will: the Serengeti is home to huge numbers of wildebeest, zebras, hyenas, lions, elephants, hippos, antelopes, and more. So large is the Serengeti that we strongly recommend a minimum of two nights in the park if you’re serious about doing it justice.

Serengeti NP Fact File

Location: 335km north of Arusha.

To Do: Great Wildeebest Migration, hot air balloon safari, game drives, Oldupai Gorge visit, Lake Natron, Ol Doinyo Lengai hiking, and fly-in safaris.

Known For: Great Wildebeest Migration.

Best Time to Visit Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti offers outstanding year round game-viewing, but is particularly popular during the Great Wildebeest Migration when some 1.7 million wildebeest and another 500,000 zebras cross the Serengeti on their way to the Masai Mara.

The Wildebeest Migration sees almost 2 million wildebeest move across the Serengeti in one of nature’s most memorable displays.

Between January and March, the southern Serengeti region of Ndutu plays host to the calving season in which hundreds of thousands of young wildebeest take their first stumbling steps while hungry predators watch on.

April and May see the vast herd making its way across the Serengeti, and offers fantastic opportunities to see this truly colossal herd in motion.

June and July are the most popular time to see the Wildebeest Migration, as the herd must cross the Grumeti and Mara rivers to reach their goal. The river crossings are not only hindered by the fast moving rivers, but also the crocodiles lurking in the shallows and the predators who constantly harry the rear of the herd.

In December, it is possible to view the herd as it makes its way south once more to return to the Ndutu region for another calving season.

Check our Serengeti Tanzania safaris

Park Highlights

The Great Wildebeest Migration

Each year, the Serengeti is home to the world’s largest movement of animals as over 1.7 million wildebeest, 500,000 zebras, and a further 200,000 + species of antelope make their way from the Ndutu calving region in the southern Serengeti north into the Masai Mara of Kenya.

This monumental feat of endurance attracts visitors from all over the world wishing to witness the majesty of the greatest show in nature, and the movement can be witnessed in the Serengeti for much of the year.

From calving season early into the year to the dramatic river crossings in June-July to the eventual slow return late in the year, the Serengeti is without question the best place to see the Wildebeest Migration in all of its glory.

Predators

The Serengeti is arguably the best place in Tanzania to see predators in action. With so many animals calling the grass plains home, predators numbers are high – especially for lions and cheetahs. It’s a rare safari to the Serengeti that doesn’t spot at least a few lions, and even cheetahs and leopards are not uncommon sightings.

Other predators such as hyenas, serval cats, jackals, and even the occasional African wild dog can be found on the Serengeti.

Sunrise Game Drive

While night game drives within the Serengeti National Park are not allowed, a sunrise game drive is an unforgettable way to see the park in a totally different light. Not only is the sight of the sun setting fire to the savanna something you’ll remember for the rest of your life, but the low light and cool air are perfect conditions for predators such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs to do their hunting.

A morning game drive can be added to any Serengeti itinerary, and you can then enjoy a late breakfast at your lodge before hitting the road again.

Hot Air Balloon Safari & Champagne Breakfast

The only thing more memorable than seeing a Serengeti sunrise is seeing a Serengeti sunrise from a few thousand feet. A hot air balloon flight over the Serengeti is undoubtedly something for the bucket list.

Starting before sunrise, you’ll be high in the air when the sun crests the horizon and lights up the Serengeti in brilliant red and orange. After your serene ride above the plains, you’ll settle out on the Serengeti for a champagne breakfast in the wilderness.

Lobo Valley

Playing host to the Wildebeest Migration in June/July and again from September to November, the Lobo Valley is a popular game-viewing destination year round. Home to large herds of elephants and the Serengeti’s second largest lion pride, Lobo Pride, the Lobo region is a distinct geographical region boasting woodland and hilly kopjes.

Mara River

The site of the dramatic river crossing from the Serengeti National Park to the Masai Mara in Kenya, the Mara River is a swollen body of water that proves a deadly barrier for the Wildebeest Migration as it seeks to cross into the relative safely of southern Kenya.

As if its strong currents weren’t enough to challenge the wildebeest and zebras attempting the crossing, the Mara River is also home to Nile Crocodiles only too happy to snap up a tasty treat as it attempts to get across the river.

While it is never possible to predict with certainty when the Wildebeest Migration will attempt a crossing, it provides a thrilling game-viewing experience for those patient (or lucky) enough to see it happen.

Grumeti River

The site of the Serengeti’s less well-known river crossing, the Grumeti River nonetheless offers up exciting game-viewing as the river’s current and hungry inhabitants present the first major obstacle the Wildebeest Migration must pass on its way north.

Ndutu Region

Home to the yearly calving season in which hundreds of thousands of young wildebeest are born into the world, the Ndutu region of the Serengeti is where the Wildebeest Migration starts.

With the area particularly verdant during the early months of the year, it is the perfect place for expectant parents to birth and raise their young before embarking on the long, dangerous walk towards the Masai Mara.

Safaris wishing to see the Wildebeest Migration during January to March should include Ndutu on their itinerary if they wish to see the vast herd before it moves on.

Lake Natron

A shallow alkaline lake fed by a number of springs as well as the Ewaso Ng’iro River, Lake Natron is a brightly coloured lake with a pinkish soda crust.

Surrounded by fascinating landscape including gorges, waterfalls, volcanic craters, and the ominous form of Gelai Volcano, a visit to Lake Natron is as much a cultural and geological safari as it is a wildlife one.

Activities around Lake Natron include swimming in the lake, a visit to a local Masai boma, or hikes within the nearby Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the craters that surround it.

Game-viewing in the Lake Natron area, while not as good as in other areas of the Serengeti, still offers the chane to see kudu, gazelle, oryx, jackals, and large numbers of flamingoes.

Simba Kopje

Located in the central area of the Serengeti, the Simba Kopje (sometimes known simply as Simba Rocks) is a tumbled pile of granite boulders atop which lions can regularly be seen sunning themselves. It is also said to have been the inspiration for Pride Rock in Disney’s The Lion King.

While kopjes are not uncommon sights throughout the Serengeti, Simba Kopje is particularly popular due to its central location and regular lion sightings.

Check more on Wikipedia.

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About Ngorongoro Reserve

Tanzania’s biggest tourist attraction isn’t Zanzibar, nor is it the sprawling plains of the Serengeti but Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The stunning Ngorongoro Conservation Area takes out that honour, and it’s with good reason. Exploring this verdant lost world is among the most memorable experiences a traveler is every likely to have.

Key to Ngorongoro’s enduring appeal is that sheer variety of experiences  within the reserve. It’s far more than just a simple game-viewing destination – although in this area it excels. Enjoy a variety of day trips and excursions such as guided hikes, cultural visits, and archaeological sites available to offer a more intimate experience.

As a conservation area rather than a national park, Ngorongoro is unique in that it is a park in which people and Africa’s animals live side by side. The local Masai tribes live in harmony with the animals that call the park home, and opportunities to interact with Africa’s most famous tribe abound as a result.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Fact File

Location: Between Lake Manyara National Park and Serengeti National Park.
To Do: Game Drives, Oldupai Gorge Historic Site, Empakai Crater hike, Ol Doinyo Lengai hike, Olmoti Crater hike, and Masai cultural visits.
Known For: Black rhinoceros, stunning views, Masai villages, and the starting point of the Great Wildebeest Migration

Best Time to Visit Ngorongoro

Ngorongoro is unique in that it offers stellar game-viewing opportunities throughout the year. There is no ‘off season’ in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Check our Ngorongoro Tanzania safaris

Park Highlights

Oldupai Gorge

Once a lake, the Oldupai Gorge was formed over 2 million years ago by the eruption of the Olmoti Volcano. Conditions around the lake proved perfect for preserving evidence of the local human population’s movements. You’ll also find a near perfectly preserved set of footprints on the site. It remain some of the oldest evidence of human habitation in the world.

The entrance to this striking gorge country is now marked by the popular Oldupai Gorge Museum. This is where you can view a number of artifacts of historic significance. The star attraction at the museum is a plaster mould of these ancient footprints, that allow visitors to form a connection with these ancient wanderers.

The gorge itself makes for quite an impressive sight in its own right, and is home to animals such as giraffes, impala, the Kirk dik-dik, and reptiles such as snakes and brightly coloured Agama lizards.

Ngorongoro Shifting Sands

Beyond Oldupai Gorge lies a remarkable dune of volcanic ash known as ‘Shifting Sand’. Moving up to 17m in a single year, this towering black dune moves slowly across the plains as a testament to the enduring power of the Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano that created it.

Visits to this intriguing local landmark can be arranged through Shadows of Africa, as a trained guide is needed to navigate the Oldupai Gorge region.

Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek

At the head of the Oldupai Gorge are two lakes: Ndutu and Masek. The only sources of fresh water in the area during the dry season, Ndutu and Masek are a popular place for the local animal population. Visitors to the lakes can expect to see giraffes, wildebeest, and zebras in large numbers – especially during calving season when the region is home to the Wildebeest Migration.

The local Masai population use the region for grazing their cattle herds, and other wildlife that can be observed nearby include leopards, reedbuck, the bat-eared fox, hippos, and hyenas.

A large variety of bird life can also be found here, including storks, kestrels, bee-eaters, and swallows.

Olmoti Crater

All that remains of the once proud Olmoti Volcano responsible for creating Oldupai Gorge and sending our ancient ancestors on to safer pastures, Olmoti Crater is a popular spot for hiking and walking safaris.

Accompanied by an armed ranger, it is possible to spend anywhere between two hours and seven hours wandering the crater floor in search of the Bohor reedbuck, cape buffalo, and eland.

Also found within the Olmoti Crater are a number of impressive waterfalls, a diverse array of plant-life, and birds such as the Golden-Winged Sunbird, the Eastern Double-Collared Sunbird, and the Mountain Greenbul.

Empakai Crater Hiking

The area’s most popular hiking destination, Empakai Crater’s rim provides an unparalleled view of nearby landmarks such as Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano, distant Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Great Rift Valley.

Like Olmoti, Empapaki can be explored with the aid of an armed ranger, and animals such as blue monkeys, cape buffalo, water bucks, and bushbucks can be found wandering the heavily forested walls of the crater.

Camping on the crater rim is also a possibility, and a popular option for those wanting to get away from the more well-touristed areas of the northern circuit.

Ol Doinyo Lengai

The only volcano in the world to erupt with natrocarbonatite lava rather than the more common sodium carbonate and potassium, Ol Doinyo Lengai is Eastern Africa’s only active volcano and a popular hiking destination for visitors to Tanzania.

Meaning ‘Sacred Mountain of God’, you can read more about hiking on Ol Doinyo Lengai on our blog.

Check more on Wikipedia.

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About Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is the most underrated national park in Tanzania. The park is one of Africa’s little-known gems and a must for any northern circuit itinerary.

Boasting a variety of wildlife as diverse as its landscape, Tarangire is also the park that can boast being home to Tanzania’s largest population of African elephants. With four of the Big Five also residing within the park, it is a great spot for a day trip from Arusha or as an addition to a Serengeti or Ngorongoro centred itinerary.

The name of Tarangire comes from Tarangire River which flows through it. The park is an excellent choice during the dry season when animals are forced to move closer and closer to the river in search of water. A backdrop of majestic baobab trees and twisted acacia offers a beautiful experience.

Tarangire NP Fact File

Location: 118km southwest of Arusha.
To Do: Guided walking safaris, game drives, and cultural visits to neighbouring villages.
Known For: Tanzania’s largest elephant population.

Best Time to Visit Tarangire

Beautiful during both the wet and dry seasons, Tarangire is an excellent year round park for game viewing. Between August and October when the wildlife is at its peak, the park offers particularly good wildlife viewing conditions.

Check our Tarangire Tanzania safaris

Park Highlights

Diverse Wildlife

With the exception of the critically endangered black rhinoceros, Tarangire is home to all of Tanzania’s most iconic animals. From the diminutive dik-dik to the towering African elephants and giraffes that attract visitors from all around the world.

In addition to these popular animals, the park is also home to three endangered animals that can be found nowhere else in the country. These animals are fringe-eared oryx with its graceful horns, the towering greater kudu, and the tiny Ashy Starling.

Tanzania’s Largest Elephant Population

Tarangire’s claim to fame is its large elephant population – the largest in Tanzania. During the dry season, herds of up to 300 elephants can be seen digging in the apparently dry riverbed of the Tarangire River looking for underground streams.

Even during the wet season when other inhabitants of the park are able to scatter out across the entirety of the park’s 20,000 square kilometres, elephants remain a common sight thanks to their large numbers.

Migration

Between June and November of each year, Tarangire National Park plays host to a migration. While not as impressive as the Serengeti’s legendary Wildebeest Migration, is nonetheless an impressive sight to see.

As other sources of water dry up, the Tarangire River becomes the park’s sole source of water and draws huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and hartebeests as well as the lions, leopards, and other predators who prey upon them.

During this period, Tarangire offers fascinating wildlife viewing, as its dry landscape makes it easier to spot these large groups of animals on the move.

Swamps

You can find Tarangire’s swamp network in the eastern and southern regions of the park. It offers a vital water catchment and sanctuary for the park’s elephants, cape buffalo, and more than 500 species of bird.

A seasonal swamp that dries up during the dry season, the Tarangire swampland offers intriguing game viewing opportunities. A good place for those wishing to see wallowing elephants, the Silale swamp lions, tree-climbing pythons, and even the rare African wild dog.

Birdwatching in Tarangire

With its wide variety of habitats and food sources, Tarangire National Park is a popular destination for birds and the people who love to watch them.

With more than 550 species of bird – the highest number on all of Tanzania – Tarangire truly is a birdwatcher’s paradise.

The park’s woodlands are home to hoopoes, hornbills, brown parrots, and the white-bellied go away bird as well as game birds such as the helmeted guinea fowl, yellow necked spurfow, and the crested francolin.

Other popular inhabitants of the park include yellow-collared lovebirds, lilac breasted rollers, mousebirds, swifts, striped swallows, starlings, bee-eaters, hammerkops, plovers, Kori bustards, bateleur eagles, steppe eagles, and the gigantic lappet-faced vulture. And that’s just naming a few!

Jamboree Africa can arrange specialty bird watching safaris for those interested. Contact us to find out more.

The Baobab Tree

Alongside the acacia, no plant is quite so synonymous with Africa than the noble baobab. Otherwise known as the Tree of Life, the baobab gets its distinct shape from the fact it can store anywhere between 300 and 1000 litres of water within its bloated trunk. Able to live up to 600 years, these venerable trees are particularly common in Tarangire National Park.

Legend has it that long ago, the baobab trees would roam across Africa on their roots until their movements angered God. He planted them upside down so that they would be forever bound to the one place.

From a more practical standpoint, the baobab is an important source of food for the animals of Tarangire. It has edible seeds  and elephants use its bark to sharpen their tusks.

Within the park, you can also see the notorious ‘poacher’s hide’- former hiding place for ivory poachers. During the heydays of illegal trade, it could hide up to twenty hunters at a go.

Kolo Rocks Art Site

Just outside the park are the Kolo Rocks – a World Heritage site proposal that display ancient rock art left by ancient hunter-gatherers, as well as the remains of prehistoric rock shelters.

Check more on Wikipedia.

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