Lake Manyara packs an astonishing variety into a small, beautiful frame. Squeezed between the sheer wall of the Great Rift Valley and the shore of a shallow alkaline lake, the park runs for barely fifty kilometres yet moves you through a series of contrasting worlds in a single morning. You enter through a lush groundwater forest, fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, where blue monkeys and huge troops of baboons move through the fig and mahogany canopy. Beyond it, acacia woodland opens onto grassy floodplains grazed by large elephant herds, buffalo, giraffe and impala — and here Manyara reveals its most famous trick: lions that lie draped along the branches of the acacias, one of only a couple of places on earth where the behaviour is regularly seen. The lake itself, which fills much of the park, draws great flocks of flamingos, pelicans and storks that colour the shallows pink and white, while a hippo pool, hot springs and the recent treetop canopy walkway add still more. Compact, scenic and endlessly varied, Lake Manyara makes a perfect opening act on the northern circuit — a half-day here sets the scene for Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and a full day rewards those who slow down.
Ultra-Luxury8 Days
