How to get to Lake Manyara National Park : Lake Manyara national park is one of the finest safari destinations in Tanzania, the park stretches over 330 square kilometers of the Northern Rift Valley floor, in the south west of Arusha.
Lake Manyara national park was established in 1960, the park is famed for having a home to a number of attractions including Lake Manyara, abundance of wildlife, spectacular vegetation covers and birdlife.
Lake Manyara is the main attraction in the park and in the whole of the East African Rift, Ernest Hemingway identified the lake as the most lavish place in the world. The lake is in an impressive setting that he once extolled with the documentary maker, Collin Willock.
Lake Manyara national park is part of the famous northern Safari circuit of Tanzania, from Arusha City – the tourism hub of Tanzania it is a distance of approximately 126 kilometers – a drive of about 90 minutes’ drive most of the safaris start from Arusha city. Other Tanzania safari destinations (national parks) found in the northern Safari circuit include Serengeti national park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Tarangire national park.
The park can be accessed through the southern or northern gates, the northern gate is the most commonly used gate by visitors to Lake Manyara national park because it most of the accommodation facilities are located in its vicinity.
There are two major of transport used to get there for a Tanzania safari and these include air and road transport.
By Air
Air means of transport is the best way to get to Lake Manyara national park and that is by flying into the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), located approximately 46 kilometers from Arusha. It is also possible to fly to Arusha Airport (ARK) while flying from the Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam.
Alternatively, visitors can take an international flight to Julius Nyerere International Aiport in Dar es Salaam and then catch a connecting flight from either Arusha Airport (ARK) or Julius Nyerere International Airport (JRO).
Chartered flights to Lake Manyara national park from Arusha Airport or Julius Nyerere International Airport, there are also chartered flights connecting from Serengeti national park. From there you can connect to the park’s gate by road which is approximately 16 kilometers away and a drive of about 30 minutes.
Domestic or chartered flights can be arranged with domestic carriers such as Air Excel, Coastal Aviation, Regional Air, Auric Air and Flightlink. Chartered flights between parks can be booked by Focus East Africa Tours and it is included in your safari package.
By Road
It located Southwest of Arusha Town, from Arusha it is a distance of 126 kilometers (78 miles). Visitors can easily get to the park from Bahati, the capital of the Manyara region, road transport is the most popular transport means among the travelers visiting Lake Manyrara national park along the northern safari circuit.
By car – one can take a road safari along the newly tarred road connect from Arusha taking only one and a half hours to reach the entrance gate, considering is on the way to the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire national park and Serengeti national park which are found on the Tanzania northern Safari circuit.
In case, you have no private means of transport, there are public means of transport like a bus to Mto Wa Mbu village and then rent a car to get you into the park. From Tarangire national park, it is approximately 37.4 kilometers.
Best time to get to Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara national park is an all year round destination and it can be visited any time of the year, however the best time for viewing of large mammals is during the dry season experienced between July to October and in January – February.
The wet season is experienced in November to December and March to June. This season is characterized with rains that make most of the roads inside the park slippery and hard to traverse, this period is the best for bird watching in Lake Manyara.
