LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK.

The park derives it's name from Maasai word 'Manyara" which is the name for the plant Euphorbia tirucalli.
The Maasai use this plant to grow livestock stockades.
Set around the lake, this park lies at the foot of a dramatic escarpment and
offers a rich diversity of scenery and wildlife, including the famous tree lions a very high density of elephant
population and other big game.
Its lake is a haven for birdlife and hippo.
Lake Manyara National Park, 130 km from Arusha town,
covers 330 sq km, 200 sq. km being a lake. The park is located between the 600m escarpment of the Great Rift
Valley and Lake Manyara. The park is therefore spectacularly set on a narrow band of lakeshore along the Western
Wall of the Great Rift Valley.

The Great Rift Valley is part of a fault in the earth's crust, which stretches 8,000 km from Turkey to the mouth
of the Zambezi River in Mozambique. The fault is so massive that when astronauts landed on the moon the Rift valley
was clearly visible to them. The approach to Manyara is dramatic because the rift wall is so clearly defined and can
be seen running north and south into the hazy distance.

Driving across the valley, one can see giraffes and often a variety of other plain dwellers such as wildebeest, zebra
and ostrich, even before reaching the park. At the Southern end of the park are hot Sulphur Springs called Majimoto in
Swahili.
Further along the forest opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond, the soda lake itself.
The park is famous for tree climbing Lions.