Groundwater forest beneath the Rift Valley wall.
Lake Manyara is a narrow park squeezed between the Great Rift Valley escarpment and a shallow soda lake. Its lush forest, hippo pools and flamingo-lined shores make an easy half-day stop on the way to Ngorongoro.
Within a short drive you pass from mahogany and fig forest full of baboons and blue monkeys to open grassland and the lake shore. Lions here are famous for climbing trees, though sightings are never guaranteed.
The village of Mto wa Mbu just outside the gate is a lively market town and a good place for a cycling or cultural walk.
About 2 hrs by road from Arusha
3 days
Elephants and baobabs in Tarangire, then a full morning on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. A perfect short safari before or after Kilimanjaro.
4 days
Flamingos, waterfalls and Maasai country at Lake Natron, then down to the Ngorongoro Crater.
