The terrain is so diverse that its mammal and bird lists are some of the most impressive in Tanzania. The park includes not only a substantial portion of the lake and its shores but also large areas of ground water forest with giant fig and mahogany trees alternating with acacia woodland and open swamplands. The park is bordered to the west by the dramatic western escarpment of the Rift Valley and to the east by the Lake which spreads out in a shimmering heat haze backed by a narrow band of forest and the sheer red and brown cliffs of the escarpment.

The park is home to an abundance of wildlife. Monkey, jackal, mongoose, hyena, hyrax, zebra, hippo, warthog, buffalo, Masai giraffe, duiker, waterbuck and impala have all been spotted here. Significant numbers of elephant are also resident in the Park whilst sightings of black rhino and leopard are not uncommon. Manyara is also especially noted for its wealth of bird life, being visited by many thousands of sugar-pink Lesser Flamingos, significant numbers of Greater Flamingos and a host of other woodland, plains and water birds.

One of the wonders of the world, this area was declared a World Heritage Site in 1978. Explore its mountains, drifting sand dunes and diverse wildlife and be humbled by the Masai people. This may be the only place where you will discover people living in harmony with wildlife without causing harm to one another. It is culture and ecotourism smoothly cultivated in the same environment.

The area is home to dormant and active volcanoes, soaring mountains, archaeological treasures, rolling plains, rivers, forests, lakes and shifting sand dunes Close to the center of the conservation area  is Olduvai Gorge, the ‘Cradle of Mankind’, where the remains of Tanzania’s earliest ancestors, the hominids, were found. To the west lie the alkaline lakes of Ndutu and Masek, to the south Lake Eyasi and to the north the shimmering waters of alkaline Lake Natron. The Crater Highlands consist of an elevated range of volcanoes, craters and collapsed volcanoes (calderas) that rise from the side of The Great Rift Valley.

To the northwest spreads the endless plains of the Serengeti National Park. With over 3 million large animals involved in seasonal migration, the Serengeti has the greatest unmatched concentration of wildlife in the world. The ecological rules regarding who eats who or lonely death while swimming across rivers during migration and how it is important to be in groups for survival can be observed clearly here.

Whilst the annual migration is the Serengeti’s most famous attraction, the park is also renowned for its lion, many of which have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars so that their movements may be tracked, and additionally for its wealth of cheetah, zebra, giraffe, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, eland, impala, klipspringer, hippo and warthog. The Serengeti, whose Maasai name ‘Siringet’ translates as ‘the endless plains’, offers unparalleled ornithological opportunities and an unrivalled natural arena where the glory and harmony of nature can be appreciated as nowhere else on earth.

Contact United Vacations 1-800-417-9246