All 5 in 3 days here: ~30%
Lake Manyara National Park
🇹🇿 Tanzania
East Africa, Tanzania 1209 spp. recorded
Lake Manyara National Park is a protected wetland and groundwater forest situated in Tanzania, tucked beneath the steep red cliffs of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. This compact reserve differs from nearby acacia savannas through its permanent alkaline lake, dense woodlands, and open grassy floodplains fed by underground springs.
-3.563° S 35.756° E
🦜 Nature
515 Species sighted
17,954 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Apr Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
+ 884 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 4 in 3 days here: ~10%
All 5 in 3 days here: <5%
Recent sightings in Lake Manyara National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Lake Manyara National Park
Morning soundscape0:40
Tanzania · 2022
© isaac kilusu · XC703366 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
46Jan
49Feb
45Mar
52Apr
44May
41Jun
38Jul
36Aug
36Sep
36Oct
51Nov
46Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
(Arusha)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.3
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 834
🐒 Mammals 214
🦎 Reptiles 122
🐸 Amphibians 39
1209 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
39 Threatened 6 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
57% 📊
Coverage (236 species at ≥5% of 1209 in the inventory)
20% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (7 bird, 5 mammal)
65% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
184 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
26 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
22 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.4
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We also saw a bushbuck and a Nile monitor lizard for the first time.
The giraffes were more timid than the elephants had been earlier, so my photos feel a bit like "spot the giraffe", but it was still so exciting to see them After the giraffes we came across some smaller antelope-like creatures hiding in the undergrowth... ...and then... more elephants!
Though we didn’t see lions on this portion of safari, we did get an amazing experience with some of the elephants, who walked right up to, and around, our Safari vehicles.
Later on, we saw some giraffes, zebras and elephants, but compared to the scale of Serengeti or Ngorongoro, it was not that breathtaking.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Lake Manyara National Park?
1,209 species
Lake Manyara National Park has 1,209 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Olive Baboon (about 80%), Common Bulbul (about 70%), Vervet Monkey (about 70%), Speckled Mousebird (about 60%) and Impala (about 60%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Nile Monitor (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Lake Manyara National Park for wildlife?
January–February, May–July and November
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day, against about 50% in March–April, August–October and December.
Can you see a Lion in Lake Manyara National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lion sighting in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, based on 61 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and August–September (about 30%).
Can you see a Greater Flamingo in Lake Manyara National Park?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Flamingo sighting in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is November (about 20%). Sightings take luck and time in the field.
Can you see an African Fish-Eagle in Lake Manyara National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Fish-Eagle sighting in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, based on 147 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February (about 50%).
Can you see an African Bush Elephant in Lake Manyara National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an African Bush Elephant sighting in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, based on 189 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February, June–July and September (about 60%).
Where in Lake Manyara National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around (Arusha)
The richest sighting zone is around (Arusha), followed by Migunga Tented Camp and South park edge, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Lake Manyara National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.0 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Lake Manyara National Park rates 4.0/5: 119th of 316 parks worldwide and 49th in Africa. 30 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
