Looking down from the western Rift wall along the road to Ngorongoro and Serengeti, it is easy to see why Lake Manyara national park was once described as “the emerald of Africa”. The Lake shimmers below in the heat haze, home to flamingos, pelicans and innumerable other water birds. Between the lake and Rift, the park, with one main road and several loops, stands out in luscious greens that contrast with the arid, brown and windswept countryside.

Lake Manyara Park is famous for its tree climbing lions and the only park which is located within the Great Rift Valley-a fault in the earth’s crust. The park has an area of 330 sq. km of which 220 sq. km is the lake and its 130 km from Arusha. The park is famous for having highest density of elephants in Africa (six elephants per square kilometers). Common animals found are buffalo, dik-dik, giraffe, hyenas, impala, baboon, monkey, bush pig, wildebeest, hartebeest, hippos and many more. Also has a fantastic profusion of birdlife over 400 species.

But as the visitor gets closer into the park, the green mass seen from the rift wall takes on an individual identity. There are two types of palm trees, several acacias, mahogany, croton, false mvule, sweetberry, quinine, sycamore, fever, baobab and a host of other trees, bushes and shrubs.