Lake Manyara itself comprises around 230sq km of the total park size of 330 sq km and plays host to a wealth of water birds. Hippo can easily be found in the Simba River and there are large numbers of elephant and a resident herd of buffalo on the open plains at Mahali Pa Nyati, meaning, ‘the place of the buffalo’ in Swahili. With luck, the famous and highly unusual tree-climbing lions will also be seen.
Lake Manyara National Park is particularly well known for its primates, having large numbers of olive baboon, blue and vervet monkeys. The park boasts more than 400 bird species, including large numbers of lesser flamingos, great white pelican, yellow-billed stork, southern ground hornbill and many raptors.
