Lake Manyara and Tarangire
Lake Manyara is a shallow lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania. Of the 127 square miles (329 km2) of Lake Manyara National Park, the lake's alkaline waters (with a pH near 9.5) cover approximately 89 square miles (231 km2), though the area and pH fluctuate widely with the seasons, and dry spells expose large areas of mud flats. While most known for baboons, the Manyara Lake and its environs is also home to herbivores such as hippos, impalas, elephants, wildebeests, buffalo, warthogs and giraffes. Leopards, although in abundance, are hard to get a glimpse of, just like the other elusive carnivores - the lions - of this park. Both Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks are a short drive from the town of Arusha, where most tourists going on a safari will arrive in Tanzania.
Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania. During the dry season thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara. The landscape and vegetation is incredibly diverse with a mix that is not found anywhere else in the northern safari circuit. The hilly landscape is dotted with vast numbers of Baobab trees, dense bush and high grasses. The park is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing lions. Visitors to the Tarangire National Park can expect to see any number of resident zebra and wildebeest in addition to the less common animals. After your visit to the Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks, go on a safari to the Serengeti Plains and Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area - and then end off your safari holiday with a few nights at a lazy beach resort near Dar es Salaam or on Zanzibar Island.
