Northern circuit

Park history

Lake Manyara National Park delivered its name from a plant called Euphorbia tirucalli, known as Emanyara in Maasai language. The Maasai are using this plant to protect their bomas (hedge). The Park was gazette as a National park in 1960 and was declared as Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The park has an area of 648.7 km2 (402 sq miles) of which 262.7 km2 (163 sq miles) is covered by lake and 386 km2 (240 sq miles) is dry land. The rainfall pattern of the park is bi-modal with short rains starting from November to December and long rains from February to May, dry season is from late June to October, annual mean temperature is 26.50C, average temperature 11.340C and relative humidity ranges from 45%-85%.

How to get there

The park is located in Northern Tanzania, 126 km west of Arusha town along the Makuyuni-Ngorongoro road, strategically located along the high way to Ngorongoro and Serengeti and is easily accessible by road and air (charter or scheduled flights). The park is close to the ethnically diverse town of Mto wa Mbu in which a representation of the 120 tribes of Tanzania is found.

Best time to visit

The park can be accessed throughout the year. However, June to October is the best time for large mammals and November to July is ideal time for bird watching.

Activities