Enjoy a spectacular one-day trip to Lake Manyara, an alkaline lake and home to the endangered tilapia (Oreochromis amphimelas). The Lake Manyara National Park area is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, to the east. The national park only includes the northwest quadrant of the lake, about 200 km2, wildlife-viewing and an opportunity to learn about the everyday lives of Tanzanian villagers. On the edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is small, but it's diverse eco-systems pack in a huge variety of animal and bird life. It is rightly famous for its tree-climbing lions, but also for its boisterous baboons! A riot of color is provided by the bird life here and your day trip also includes a village tour of Mto wa Mbu.

Set amidst phenomenal landscape, you search out the wildlife on the plains and in the acacia woodlands, not forgetting the shores of the shallow alkaline lake itself. Although this is a small park, with much of it underwater, it is a varied environment with characteristic fig and mahogany trees prevalent here. You might spot Lake Manyara's renowned tree-climbing lions, but you could easily find elephant, hippo, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffe, plus many other species. A splash of color will be added by the pink-hued flamingos, one of 400 bird species recorded here. Also present are spoonbills, stilts, egrets, pelicans, cormorants and yellow-billed storks.