BEST TIME TO VISIT LAKE MANYARA FOR A NORTHERN TANZANIA SAFARI

Lake Manyara is a beautiful place to visit all the year round, with perpetual water in the central soda lake which covers two-thirds of the total area of over 127 square miles (330 square kilometers), although this shrinks in the dry season to half its size, surrounded by salt flats. Rivers and waterfalls cascade from the escarpment in the wet and ground water flows year-round from the base of the adjacent Rift Valley Escarpment, providing conditions for lush, jade forests of fig, mahogany, baobab and acacia.

In the less frequented south of the Lake Manyara National Park, hot springs bubble from the plains, heated by underground volcanic activity to flow over sulfur encrusted rocks into the lake. Where it cools to bearable temperatures, pods of hippopotami wallow during the heat of the day, and later emerging to forage during the night. The short rains fall in November and December, when it is hot, with humid temperatures up to 95 F (35 C) and short thunderstorms in afternoons or evenings, but these leave plenty of time for game watching trips in Manyara, although road logistics on wet ground requires utmost skill and plenty of insect repellent spray may be advised.



A dry hot period follows from January when room prices start to peak where AfricanMecca lodgers maximize high density wildlife experience on their safari tour in northern Tanzania until the long rains arrive around middle of March when accommodation rates are offered at a concession.

April and May are the wettest, the low or green season when accommodation costs are least, but logistical air and road transport costs, park fees, meals and activities remain the same throughout the year. These are the best times for birdwatching, which is fantastic in the woodlands and around the lake, where migratory colonies of storks, pelicans, spoonbills, cormorants and pink flamingos assemble in the food-rich shallows and flocks of hundreds of thousands of tiny red-billed quelea weavers darken the sky, flashing red and amber in their breeding plumage.



These in turn provide a major food-chain biomass for herons, hornbills, shrikes and other raptors, colorful rollers and kingfishers as well as attracting small predators, rodents, lizards and snakes. On nature holiday in Africa at this time of the year, skies provide wonderful photo opportunities with dramatic conjunctions of storm-cloud and light, silvery morning haze and amazing sunsets as well as spectacular but small and shy waterfalls cascading from cliffs.

The dry season of July to October is the best time for watching game that comes to Manyara from other ranges as water sources dry up, to crowd around fresh waterholes with less cover for camouflage. The north of the park gets more traffic, especially in the mornings at this time of year, so it is best to stay within the park to access the southern regions. It can get quite chilly in the dry, cool season of June to September, so a light fleece is advised for early morning and evening game drives when temperatures often fall below 60 F (15 C).