125 km west of Arusha town is Lake Manyara National Park, under the wall of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is the oldest and most popular sanctuaries in East Africa. The main habitats include the shallow soda lake itself which occupies 70% of the National Park total area of 320 sq km, the ground water forest, open grassland, acacia woodland and the rift wall.

The most famous spectacle in the park is the tree-climbing lions, which are occasionally seen along branches of acacia trees. Other animals found in the park include buffalo, elephants, leopards, baboons, impala, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich and hippos. Popularly referred to as an ornithologist’s paradise, Lake Manyara National Park contains over 400 bird species found in most savanna and river habitats in East Africa. Common water birds to be seen here are pelicans, spoonbills, Egyptian geese, hammerkops and the migratory flamingoes, which arrive in hundreds of thousands creating one of Africa’s great natural sights over the soda lake, enjoy the Wildlife in Tanzania