Start your day with an morning pickup from your hotel in Arusha, followed by a 2-hour drive through scenic highlands and rural farmland en route to Lake Manyara National Park. The drive offers glimpses of Maasai homesteads, banana plantations, and the majestic Great Rift Valley wall.

Upon arrival at the park gate, your guide handles registration before beginning a game drive through the park’s diverse ecosystems. Lake Manyara is known for its rich wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, hippos, and its famous tree-climbing lions, which are occasionally seen resting in the branches.

As you explore the groundwater forest, acacia woodland, and open floodplain, keep an eye out for baboons, blue monkeys, and a wide variety of birdlife, especially around the lake’s edge. The park is a haven for bird watchers, with flamingos, pelicans, herons, and over 400 bird species recorded.

At midday, enjoy a picnic lunch at a scenic viewpoint, often overlooking the lake or forest clearing, where you might spot hippos wallowing in the water nearby.

In the afternoon, continue with a relaxed game drive before exiting the park and heading back to Arusha. You’ll return to your hotel by late afternoon, filled with incredible memories of this lush and compact gem of a park.