When to Visit Lake Manyara National Park
When to Visit Lake Manyara National Park : Lake Manyara National Park is a great Tanzania wildlife safari destination, the park is considered as an all year – round Tanzania safari destination however time of the year considered to be the best time for game viewing is the dry season from June to October.
Lake Manyara national park is relatively a small park situated at the base of the River Valley Escarpment, unlike other more savannah dominated parks in Tanzania, the ground water forests in Lake Manyara national park offer visitors a superior change of the scenery.
During the peak tourist season, the northern section of Lake Manyara national park is always very crowded most especially in the mornings for most the year (June to October), however in the months of March and April the park experiences rains which makes the period a low tourist season.
Lake Manyara Weather
Lake Manyara national park experiences two main seasons in a year that are dry season and wet season, each of these seasons come with its unique rewards as detailed below
The Dry Season
Lake Manyara national park’s dry season is during the months of June to October and is always referred to as the Peal Tourist Season, the short dry season comes in January and February. With large number of tourists visiting the park, the safari to Lake Manyara becomes more costly as the demand for accommodation is high.
During this time of the year, the animals are easy to see as they gather around the few remaining water sources and the vegetation is thin. This time of the year is highly recommended to visit Lake Manyara national park as there are a lot of sun, little rains and few mosquitoes thus slight chances of contracting malaria.
During this time of the year, it tends to get cold in the mornings so you are advised to bring warm clothes for the early morning game drives. For travelers wishing to travel on a low budget, the dry season is not a recommended time to visit Lake Manyara national park.
The Wet season in Lake Manyara
The wet season in Lake Manyara national park is experienced from November to May, with the coming of rains the park’s terrain comes to life. The dried vegetation thrives again and a beautiful green scenery unveils again.
This season is a low season in the months of April and May, the rates are lower since less crowds visit the park. Though the best time of the year to get the best views of wildlife in the park is the dry season, Lake Manyara national park still provides good viewing of the wildlife throughout the year.
The wet season is a good time to visit the park for birders as many migratory birds enter the park to join the resident species.
The short rains in Lake Manyara national park begin in November to December, this time of the year is generally hot with average temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius with short thunderstorms in the afternoons or evenings. The short rains are proceeded with short thunderstorms with the long rains that begin in March, because of the rains. Most of the roads may become very hard to traverse most especially in the months of March, April and May when the park experiences its heaviest rains.
If you are travelling to Lake Manyara national park on a budget, the wet season is the best period of the year since there are fewer tourists visiting the park and most of the accommodation establishments offer great discounts thus lowering the overall cost of a Lake Manyara national park.
In summary
The best time for wildlife viewing in Lake Manyara national park is in the dry season from June to October and January to February, the best time for bird watching is during the wet season from November to December and from March to May.
How to get to Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara national park is located in the Manyara region and by road, it takes approximately 1 to 2 hours to get to the main entrance gate, the entire road to the park is well surfaced while the inner roads may roads may require to use a good 4 wheel drive vehicle.
As you approach the northern entrance of the park, you will drive through the Mto wa Mbu town where you can visit the local mark, the town is a home to several indigenous tribes such as the Maasai, Tatoga, Irangi, gorowa and the Chagge people that have lived and traded in the area since the colonial times.
Lake Manyara national park can easily be accessed throughout the year, however the best time to visit the park is during the dry season in the months of July to October when the roads inside the park are dry and very passable.
