Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara has the highest concentration of Baboons in the world. There are large troupes of Baboons that roam the park. These amazing animals really deserved quite a bit of viewing time. They are intelligent, complex, and sometimes even sensitive creatues.



After an afternoon or two watching them you will certainly be struck by how amazingly human they seem. You might find a touching scene of baboons mothers nursing their young. You might find a Baboon couple affectionately grooming one another. You might even witness competing troupes of Baboons fighting over territory



Grazing Vervet Monkeys on the other hand will offer a much tamer wildlife experience. You'll see many alongside your vehicle and in grassy areas along the road. They will mostly ignore you and go about their business of grazing and grooming.



Part of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is about two thirds lake and one third land. The relatively small piece of park land is home to a surprisingly wide variety of animal life due to the wide range of ecosystems that are supported. There is lake, marsh, plains grassland, and groundwater forest. Driving south through the park you will have the Baobab lined cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment on your right, and the flamingo filled lake on your left. You'll pass through the groundwater fed acacia forest. It's quite lush and there are many dozen varieties of Acacia tree to see here.



It's quite common to see bird life here. Egrets, various Cranes and Storks, and Pink Flamingos can be found most of the year. The Yellow billed storks are usually huddled in groups of a couple dozen near the lake shore or in the surrounding marsh and soda flats. They come and go frequently and it's nice to watch as a Stork or two will fly gracefully in to join up with its group. Beside flamingos, many wild and migratory birds inhabit the lake and surrounding area, including Ostrich, Egret, Heron, Pelican, Stork, African Spoonbill, and Ibis. If you are really lucky you'll get a glimpse of the rare pygmy goose.



A fullrange of plains mammals can be seen here, though not nearly in the massive numbers of the Serengeti. Plains animals you are likely to encounter are Buffalo, Zebra, Impala, and small herds of Elephant. Cape Buffalo are fairly common and you'll likely find them near the lake shore or in the plains area. There usually are a few Egrets and other avian life hanging around. If you are lucky you will see the rare tree climbing lions lounging in mahogany and acacia trees during the rainy season.



Elephants here are a little less common than in Tarangire, but they are still very easy to find. But unlike Tarangire you can get nicer views of them walking
in the open bush and marsh of the Endabash area and not so much nestled in dense forest.



Hippos need to stay in the water all day long to survive. Their skin is sensitive to the sun and so they stay near the water during hot daylight hours. Where there's water there's Hippos. Don't be surprised to see a Kettle Egret or a Stork hitching a ride on the back of a floating Hippo. Very few predators would attempt any trouble with a fully grown Hippopotamus and so a bird hitching a ride is in a very safe place.



After Tarangire, Lake Manyara is probably the second most underrated park in the Tanzanian Northern Circuit of parks. It's often skipped altogether in favor of making it to Ngorongoro. Or it is only allotted only a lowly quick afternoon stop on the way heading somewhere else. Personally I feel Lake Manyara deserves at least one full dedicated day of game viewing.