Activities in Lake Manyara National Park
Activities in Lake Manyara National Park: Activities are the things that visitors can engage in during the safari in Lake Manyara national park which is located in the northern part of Tanzania at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. The national park was gazetted in 1960 and it covers an area of 330 square kilometers which makes it one of the smallest national parks in Tanzania and its composed of Lake Manyara a shallow alkaline lake that covers about 200 square kilometers which is up to two thirds of the parks surface area, dense ground water forest, open grassland and acacia woodland which act as habitat for different wildlife species including animals like elephants, tree climbing lions, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes, leopards, primates like blue monkeys, olive baboons and different bird species.
Activities in Lake Manyara National Park
Day game drive
Game drive one of the popular activities in the park where visitors get an opportunity to explore the park in a 4 WD pop up safari vehicle with a professional driver guide. During the game drive you will follow different game tracks in the thick forests and tracks to the lake which offer you with spectacular vi
ews of animals like elephants, waterbucks, gazelle, bushbucks, buffaloes, zebras, leopards primates like blue monkeys, baboons, different bird species like flamingos, pelicans, view different plant and tree species, beautiful views of the sunrise or sunset across the horizon, take great photos among others. You will also be able to view the tree climbing lions if you are lucky because Lake Manyara national park is famously known for harboring the tree climbing lions which will be seen lying up in the acacia tree branches looking at their prey.
Bird watching
Lake Manyara national park is one of the top birding destinations in Tanzania because it’s a home of more than 400 recorded bird species including migratory birds from Europe, water birds, endemic species and near endemic birds. Bird watching in the park can be done in different areas such as open grassland and acacia woodland areas, areas around the lake among others, during bird watching you will be able to view different bird species such as pink colored flamingos, black herons, common silvery checked hornbill, baglafecht weaver, abdims stork, martial eagle, African jacana, great white pelican, grey crowned crane, lesser flamingo, little stint, pied avocet, sacred ibis, handsome yellow billed stork, white backed pelican, African hawk eagle, African fish eagle, palmnut vulture, spur winged goose, sacred ibis, pied kingfisher, lesser flamingo, glossy ibis, little bee-eater, African spoonbill, hamerkop, little stint, pied kingfisher, saddle billed stork among others.
Night game drives
Lake Manyara national park is one of the few national parks in Tanzania that offer the exciting night game drive and activity where visitors will be able to explore the park at night with an armed park ranger and spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals. During the night game drive which starts at around 8:00pm after dinner you will start driving into the thick ground water forest of Lake Manyara where you will have an opportunity to view the less seen animals in the park which become active at night. The night game drive in Lake Manyara national park is carried out on visitor’s request and it takes about two to three hours drive, while driving you will be able to view nocturnal animals such as leopards, lions, porcupines, genets, civet cats, aardvarks, see hippos grazing, beautiful stars, have a great experience of the park and wildlife at night among others.
Canoeing on Lake Manyara
Lake Manyara national park offers canoe ride where you will paddle quietly along the lake shores in a two man canoe with an experienced guide. Canoeing is done on Lake Manyara a shallow alkaline lake that covers two thirds of the total surface area of the park and during this amazing activity you will be able to view hippos wallowing in water, elephants, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes among others along the water banks and water birds such as fish eagles, bee-eaters, hornbills, cormorants, pink hued flamingos, have beautiful scenery among others.
Guided nature walks
The park offers nature walk an interesting activity where visitors get out of the comfort of the safari vehicle to explore the park on foot. Lake Manyara national park offers both long and short walking safaris which are carried out with the company of an experienced park guide who is well conversant with different walking trails and an armed park ranger to protect visitors from any danger. During the guided nature walk which takes about two to three hours walk you will be able to get up close and personal with animals like elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes grazing in their natural environment, view colorful butterflies, listen to birds singing in the trees, relax your mind, enjoy the quiet and peaceful environment, take beautiful pictures among others.
Cultural tours
This is an exciting activity in Lake Manyara national park where visitors get an opportunity to visit the Mto Wa Mbu cultural village which is located at the entrance of the Lake Manyara national park. During the cultural tour where you will be accompanied by a local guide from the village, you will be able to interact with the local people which helps you to know more about their culture, tradition, dressing code, visit their small farmlands, banana plantations, health centers, primary schools, taste their local dishes, learn how local beer is made from bananas, enjoy their traditional entertainment inform of music dance and drama, engage in tribal painting where you will also be painted, interact with the local artists and painters who make crafts among others.
Best time to visit Lake Manyara national park
Lake Manyara national park can be visited anytime throughout the year though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June to October. During the dry season vegetation in the park becomes less and animals gather around the water bodies to drink water hence giving you an opportunity to clearly view abundant wildlife and take great pictures.
Lake Manyara national park can also be visited in the wet season during the months of November to April because that is the best time for bird watching where bird lovers will be able to view migratory bird species from Europe and North Africa. Bird species start nesting in the wet season which makes it the best time to view bird in breeding plumage.
Visitors who want to engage in exciting and adventurous safari Activities Lake Manyara national park is an ideal destination to visit in Tanzania, for more information and safari bookings you can contact Focus East Africa Tours.