LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

Lake Manyara National Park is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature: an earth’s eye to park worries, imbibe nature, and glance at the reflection of the moon. The experience leaves tourists enveloped in the most peaceful, loving utopia because they evidence surrealism by seeing the upward and downward folding landscapes, the lush vegetation that shields the park from the sun and keeps it cool, the eukaryotic multicellular organisms in the wild kingdom, such as carnivores like tigers (powerful hunters with sharp teeth, strong jaws, and agile bodies), lions (see at night, are spotless, and live in prides), leopards (have soft, thick fur on the belly with a short ringed tail), cheetahs (have flexible spines, semi-retractable claws, long legs, and tails). The herbivores, such as zebras (have white and black stripes and pointed ears), buffaloes (are fantastic swimmers, have intricate social structures, and teamwork), elephants (have thick skin, communicate through vibrations with trunks). The reptiles include snakes, turtles (very slow species), and crocodiles (live on both land and water).
Lake Manyara National Park was established in 1957 as a game reserve, though before that, it was used for sports hunting. Lake Manyara was named relating to the Maasai language word called “emanyara,” meaning a spiky, protective enclosure around families. Some claim the Mbugwe people who live within Lake Manyara’s vicinity gave this water body a name referred to as “Manyero,” meaning a trough, which was later turned into a National Park covering Arusha and Manyara regions, that is between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley (protected by the Tanzania National Parks Authority).
The activities done at the park include:
Fishing: Many tourists enjoy catching fish from Lake Manyara. Some do campfires and roast the fish, while others fry the fish. The local methods used also amaze some visitors, thus forcing them to come and participate in the catching of fish, such as tilapia, Nile perch, silverfish, mudfish, to mention but a few.
Lion Viewing: The National Park is famously known for the climbing lions, where many come to the land of the blacks to witness the unbelievable tree climbers. Some of them sleep up on these trees, especially females, to protect themselves from predators and also to rest from the vigorous running. Tourists use this chance to take pictures of these lovely species. The males usually station themselves in tall grasses, hide, and rest to preserve their energy for night hunting. Though it is said that females do the bigger role in prides, males always fight for dominance since it is in nature that males are the heads. These climbing lions can also be spotted in Uganda around the Ishasha region in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which pause in the fig trees during the wet season when there is green covering. So tourists can easily see places where there is a large number of prey.
Game Drives: Game drives are either done in the morning or late afternoon, favoring latecomers and the early birds. It is done in the morning because this is the time when animals are up to look for what to eat and late afternoon when some are up from deep sleep (lions) to go and hunt. So tourists get a chance to see a great number of animals. Some even come already knowing how to trace a certain mammal. For example, elephants leave big footprints behind, while the big cats, you can easily see the claws of their feet. This makes the safari so intellectual, as the tour guides are teaching the visitors, they also become good questioners from the research made before coming to the park.
Boatrides: Sailing on the glittering Lake Manyara is one of the most relaxing activities that tourists enjoy because they can sail while they touch the water, and others can fish. A life jacket must be worn before starting the engine boats.
The accommodations that you can book allow you to go straight to your resting room in a given hotel, which includes:
Luxury:
Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
Kirurumu Tented Lodge
Escarpment Luxury Lodge
Well-Worth Lake Manyara Kirimamoja Lodge
These hotels can be booked online, which enables you not to be disturbed or move up and down looking for lodges. These hotels have lavish bathrooms with upscale features, such as heated floors, soaking tubs, lush linens, and towels. The rooms have deluxe pillows and mattresses that enable visitors to sleep like babies and dream paradise dreams. These hotels are super clean with the best services and a comfortable environment with nice views pointing at the national park.
Midrange:
Africa Safari Glamping
Escarpment Luxury Lodge
Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge
Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge
These favor tourists who cannot afford the luxury hotels. They are well-organized with simple bars that expand the joy of adventurous tourists.
Humble:
Eco Boma Camp
Isoitok Camp Manyara
Haven Nature Camp and Lodge
The rooms at the park are either single or double rooms with restaurants where visitors can buy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Swimming pools are available to spend time with your family and enjoy the blue pools in the hotels. Parking spaces are available for tourists with cars who don’t want to keep them in garages. Laundry services are available for those who cannot wash for themselves or even clean for themselves. The tourists, especially those who don’t fear the bush, choose to camp in National parks, where the parks provide both private (only booked for a certain family or group) and public camping sites (these are for everyone who wishes to camp).
The entry fee at this park for residents is $25 USD in high season and $22.5 USD in low seasons for adults, while children pay $7.5 USD, and citizens pay TShs 11,800 for adults, while children pay TShs 2,360. The best time to visit the National Park is during June to October, the dry season when animals are roaming around looking for pasture and water. That is why they cross to other national parks. However, even if you come during the wet season, it’s okay, as the National Park is always open. You can even see the lush, green vegetation that surrounds the park (those who come during the dry season will want to see a great number of animal species).
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the green grass under trees at Lake Manyara National Park while listening to the murmur of water and watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time. Traveling and changing the environment is not a waste of time but rather a life-gracing activity.