Lake Manyara makes up part of Tanzania’s “northern circuit”, the national park is around 3,000km squared of which almost two thirds is often covered in water. The lake is part of the rift valley and has some really beautiful scenery and as a soda lake is home to the famous flamingoes of east Africa.
We look at two different ways to include Lake Manyara in your itinerary, it either makes an excellent introduction to your safari on the way to Ngorongoro Crater visiting the busier but still scenic north of the park OR spend two nights and explore properly, staying within park. Which you do really does depend on the time you have available and what you are looking to get from your time in Africa.
Personally we prefer to spend our time in more remote areas so tend to lean towards spending less time in Lake Manyara, instead continuing on to other parts of the northern circuit or indeed including western or southern Tanzania if time allows, however, we are happy to discuss all options.
Lake Manyara is only a small national park but it is great year round, similar to the Ngorongoro Crater, we like it here in the January/February time when there are less people around.
There is an airstrip at Lake Manayara but it is most often included in a Northern Circuit driving itinerary, frequently as a day trip between Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Crater.
This area is really best explored by vehicle. We do like to include a stop at this nice little park in our northern circuit trips but a morning or afternoon game drive is enough to experience it.
The Northern Circuit
Tanzania’s Northern Circuit is one of the most popular safaris in Africa, yet there are so many ways to experience this amazing combination of National Parks and protected areas. As will all the trips that we put together our Northern Tanzania itineraries are made to your specific requirements but there are a few factors to consider when planning your trip here, take a look at our overview to give you more information and some examples of itineraries.