At the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment, en route to the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, sprawls the lush tropical oasis of Lake Manyara National Park. Once home to a large and healthy elephant population it is where Ian Douglass Hamilton based his camp in the 1970's, and conducted extensive elephant studies published in his now classic book "Among the Elephants". Unfortunately, poaching has reduced these elephant numbers, but plenty of elephant can still be seen there. Until the El Niño rains it was one of the best places to watch hippopotamuses bathe and interact, however most of their pools have been flooded and the hippo have moved. There are plenty of giraffe near the lake and it is always a treat to watch them sail across small grassy meadows and browse the acacia trees while Baboons, vervet, and blue monkeys leap overhead from tree to tree.

Depending on the amount of rains the lake itself will vary considerably in size. There are no direct roads, so you must settle with viewing the rafts of pink flamingos from a distance. Here, lion often nap on tree limbs to escape the afternoon sun.

Mto-wa-Mbu is a colorful town near Lake Manyara, where you may haggle with local merchants for kangas (sarongs with Swahili sayings worn by local women), tribal brass bracelets, and reasonably authentic Maasai jewelry. Behind the curio market is a very nice fresh produce market where you can see the astounding variety of fruits and vegetables that are locally grown.

Lake Manyara National Park is accessible all year round, and is about a 3-hour drive from Arusha.