Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara National Park sits at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, where a 600-metre wall of rock drops dramatically to the lake shore. This striking geography creates a compact but extraordinarily diverse park — a ribbon of habitat between cliff and water that packs groundwater forest, open floodplains, and alkaline lake into a single game drive.

The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions — a behaviour rarely seen elsewhere, where entire prides sleep draped across the branches of mahogany and fig trees. No one is entirely sure why Manyara's lions took to the trees; theories include escaping tsetse flies and enjoying lake breezes.

The lake itself hosts up to 2 million flamingos in peak season, turning the shallows pink from shore to horizon. Large hippo pools in the forest are a highlight, as are huge elephant families navigating the groundwater forest with impressive grace.