Lake Manyara National Park
Encyclopedia
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in Arusha Region
Arusha Region
Arusha is one of Tanzania's 26 administrative regions. The regional capital and largest city is Arusha. Other towns include Monduli, just west of Arusha, Longido and Loliondo to the north, Mto Wa Mbu and Karatu to the west and Usa River to the east...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. 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
Lake Manyara
Lake Manyara is a shallow lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania. Said by Ernest Hemingway to be the "loveliest [lake] .....
, an alkaline or soda-lake, to the east.
The park consists of 330 km² (127.4 sq mi) of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km² (77.2 sq mi) of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.
Fauna
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, lions, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelle, hippo, giraffe, impala, and more inhabit the 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.
Access
Lake Manyara National Park is located 126km(80 miles)west of ArushaArusha
Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...
and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport(LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.