WHERE TO STAY IN LAKE MANYARA PARK

Accommodation in Lake Manyara varies from site to site, but costs and experience are unvarying by applying an AfricanMecca Safari three tier expectation system. For example, there are very few second tier camps in Manyara e.g. Lemala Manyara Camp, not quite reaching the Premium Luxury Tier 1 experienced at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, but offering amenities of a very good standard for visitors who are looking for an authentic East Africa under canvas safari experience of an intimate and exclusive nature, with a high standard of personal service and a minimal ecological footprint, even if this means foregoing a many high modern luxuries with a treetop accommodation experience.

Lemala Manyara Camp is a small, isolated site deep in the southwestern wilderness, with twelve guest tents and a communal mess tent. Wildlife roams within feet of your bedded tent. Bush cooking is done over a charcoal burner. Bush television (watching the flame pictures in a traditional campfire) and good conversation are the means of outback entertainment. There is limited solar power, neither in-tent internet (public areas only) nor hair-dryers, and smoky washing water is heated over a wood fire and supplied in buckets to a traditional bush shower head.



In contrast, Manyara Ranch Tented Camp, classed at the same Tier 2 level, is also small and exclusive, outside the park itself, close to the main road and nearby town. The tents have constant hot and cold running water in the bathrooms, and a wide range of activities is available which includes horse-riding, fly camping to hide watching and more.

Lodges in Manyara are also rated on the same system, but consist of permanently built structures of brick, stone and other local materials with a central reception, lounge, bar and dining complex. There is one premium luxury accommodation by andbeyond, Tier 1, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, a breathtaking concept, unique in situation and bold in design.

Ten secluded, spacious chalets are built on stilts in a grove of mahogany trees. There is a central dining room with silver service, a butler and massage services, indoor and outdoor showers and a bath with a view. Extra facilities include a swimming pool, Wi-Fi, special children’s activities and a safari boutique. On the second tier level, there are several northern Tanzanian travel lodges located on the rim of the Rift Valley escarpment overlooking the national park. Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge is large and busy, outside the park border and close to a nearby airstrip.



Lake Manyara Escarpment Luxury Lodge is a surreal sixteen room site with chandeliers and leather furniture, situated on a dirt road close to a Maasai village. On a third, more budget conscious level – Tier 3, there a few unpretentious lodges, with less personal service and flexibility.

The enormous and dated Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge commands an utterly spectacular site, while modest small Kirurumu Manyara Lodge offers scenic views, and is clean and comfortable with a more flexible range of activities and far better service level than the latter (read more on when is the best time to visit Lake Manyara). There is plenty of choice to furnish the African lake vacation experience that is nearest your heart’s desire.