LAKE MANYARA TREE LODGE
TANZANIA

• 10 romantic tree house suites
• Extraordinary African wildlife
• Tree-climbing lions
• Game drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles
• Excellent birdwatching
• Beautiful Great Rift Valley views
• Spectacular East African safari lodge

General information

Stylish safari accommodation: Cradled in the boughs of mahogany trees, 10 stilted tree house suites are a sophisticated blend of intimacy and romance, offering privacy and exclusivity in cool, leafy surrounds. Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is the newest addition to our portfolio of luxury safari lodges on the northern Tanzanian safari circuit.

From soaring groundwater forests and a tranquil lake, to the mountain escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park boasts an incredible wealth of habitats and diverse African wildlife. Guests are offered an exciting, interpretive safari experience in game-rich surrounds which include large herds of elephant and buffalo. The Lodge, which was designed to exert minimal impact on the environment, is situated in the remote southwestern region of the Park.

Accommodation

LAKE MANYARA TREE HOUSE SUITES, TANZANIA

Luxurious safari tree house suites: Crafted from local timber and makuti (palm fronds), Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is discreetly tucked away in an ancient mahogany forest in close proximity to the exquisite soda lake.

• Ten stilted tree house suites
• En suite bathroom and outdoor shower
• Private game viewing deck overlooking the forest
• Within a unique African national park
• Crafts gallery and swimming pool
• Double volume guest areas
• Renowned CC African butler service

Each tree house suite features large windows to invite the lush forest inside. The classically elegant rooms are fitted with contemporary furnishings in neutral colours and textures. Bedrooms have overhead fans, mosquito nets and earthy, understated features.

Overlooking a forest boma (outdoor dining area), guest areas are soaring spaces housing Dodoma artworks and tactile fabrics. An interactive kitchen allows guests to observe the preparation of delicious Pan-African cuisine which may be enjoyed in the theatrical boma, on dining decks, or on your private viewing deck with spectacular forest views. Breakfasts and picnics are also served on the lakeshore.

Lake Manyara's thrilling East African safaris: Experience the magic of Lake Manyara National Park on exhilarating game-drives and exceptional birding safaris.

Activities

Thrilling safaris

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge's remote location in the southwestern region of the Park, only one kilometre (0.62 miles) from the extraordinary soda-rich lake, offers guests exciting safari adventures at no additional cost.

Exhilarating game-drives

Manyara's professional and skilled safari guides will lead you on interpretive game-drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles in the game-rich Lake Manyara National Park. Due to the Lodge's secluded location, there is minimal vehicle intrusion, allowing for leisurely tracking of the Park's famous tree-climbing lions, and uninterrupted viewing of flocks of pelicans and flamingos in the lake.

Birding safaris

With 387 different bird species recorded here, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge offers abundant birdwatching opportunities led by a specialist safari guide. Our birding safaris take you from the beautiful soda lake where you will spot hundreds of thousands of flamingos and pelicans, to the evergreen forest inhabited by various species including the silvery-cheeked hornbill.

Lakeshore picnics

Enjoy a delicious breakfast or picnic on the lakeshore while viewing flocks of pelicans and flamingos with buffalo and hippos cooling in the water.

Night Drives at an additional cost

Guests are now experiencing incredible night drives from Lake Manyara Tree Lodge. They have been treated to lion, leopard, wild dog, large packs of hyena with pups, huge pods of hippo out of the water, porcupine, bush baby, genet cats, awesome night skies and much, much more. Manyara's night drives can be part of the afternoon game viewing extending into the night, or they can commence after an early dinner. The cost of this experience is subject to change (the bulk of these costs are paid over to Lake Manyara National Park in the form of extra park fees). The lodge requires 24 hours notice to organize and reserve night drives, so pre-booking this memorable experience is advisable.

Your Private Guided Tanzanian Safari (optional extra)

This unique Specialist Safari is an unforgettable way to experience northern Tanzania, accompanied throughout by a professional guide in a safari vehicle for your exclusive use. Make each day a tailor-made adventure as you choose your own itinerary and choice of accommodation from our four spectacular lodges located in Tanzania's wildlife high spots - Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Klein's Camp and Grumeti River Camp.

Game viewing

LAKE MANYARA TREE LODGE, TANZANIA

African Big Game: Lake Manyara National Park is a compact yet incredibly diverse wildlife haven at the base of the spectacular Great Rift Valley. Six distinct habitats support an array of wildlife:

• Famous tree-climbing lions
• Large herds of elephant and buffalo
• Richest birdwatching locality in Tanzania
• Enormous flocks of nomadic lesser flamingo
• Extraordinary hot springs on lakeshore
• Luxuriant groundwater forest

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge Habitats

Acacia woodland is dominated by spectacular umbrella thorn, tamarind tree and desert date, with cordia and salvadora shrubs; which are an excellent habitat for large mammals. Floodplains fringing the lake expand and retract according to the levels of the lake and are typically fringed by stands of fever trees and ivory palms. Verdant groundwater forest - dominated by evergreen mahogany and ficus - occurs where water seeps from the Rift Valley wall and along rivers and streams. Marshes and wetlands develop after rain to provide habitat for aquatic plants and animals. The level of the soda-rich Lake Manyara fluctuates through the seasons and from year to year. The vertical rock faces of the Rift Valley wall are colonised by aloes and other succulent plants, while baobab, sterculia and terminalia grow on the lower slopes.

Mammals at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

Manyara is renowned for its tree-climbing lions which may be seen resting in favoured spots. After a decade of heavy poaching, elephant numbers have recovered and the great pachyderms are regularly encountered - the Park was the site of Iain Douglas-Hamilton's pioneering work on elephant societies. Olive baboon troops may number up to 200 individuals. Giraffe are abundant with many males being very dark in colour. Small numbers of Heck's wildebeest (a subspecies of the common wildebeest) favour the lakeshore. Buffalo bulls with enormous horns wallow in the lake shallows, and hippos are regularly seen. Leopard and Cape clawless otter are occasionally encountered. Klipspringers hold territories around boulders at the base of the Rift Valley wall.

Birds at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

A remarkable 387 species are recorded. Over a million lesser flamingos may occur on the lake although they do not breed here. Great numbers of white pelican, pink-backed pelican, greater flamingo and yellow-billed stork also populate the lake on a seasonal basis. Countless other waterfowl, including many Eurasian migrants, favour the lakeshore. Birds of prey are represented by a remarkable 46 species including Ruppell's griffon, Egyptian vulture, palmnut vulture, Verreaux's eagle, crowned eagle, martial eagle, bat hawk and peregrine falcon. Vociferous silvery-cheeked hornbills inhabit evergreen forest and southern ground hornbills stalk open woodland in family groups. Among the more colourful bush birds are Fischer's lovebird, blue-naped mousebird, grey-headed kingfisher, Abyssinian scimitarbill, red-and-yellow barbet and Peters' twinspot.

Other African wildlife

Huge African rock python dwell among boulders and ambush prey in wetlands. Gigantic, cathedral-like termite mounds are the work of millions of these industrious, colonial insects. A variety of colourful beetles and butterflies abound. Interestingly, there are no Nile crocodiles in the lake. Dragonflies and damselflies are prolific at the water's edge.

Conservation

CARE AND COMMUNITY AT LAKE MANYARA TREE LODGE, TANZANIA

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is committed to the core principles: Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the people.

The focus is:

Community equity, income generation, education and health care are a primary concern. In consultation with community organisations such as the Africa Foundation - a not-for-profit rural development organisation - Lake Manyara Tree Lodge has contributed significantly towards improving the prosperity and living conditions of the local Mayoca community.

About 42 000 Maasai pastoralists inhabit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, tending their herds of cattle, sheep and goats, and living in peaceful co-existence with the wildlife. Grazing of livestock on the Crater floor is permitted, offering a glimpse of bygone Africa.

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge Community Achievements

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge's ground staff has developed close ties with their neighbours, ensuring the ongoing success of numerous empowerment projects.

• USD 27 600 invested in community projects
• 10-bed clinic and nurses' accommodation built
• Access to water provided
• Electrification and solar equipment installed
• Fully equipped classrooms and teachers' houses built
• Desks supplied
• Ongoing Conservation lessons
• AIDS education
• Six secondary school scholarships sponsored
• Numerous employment opportunities created
• The Lodge buys its supplies and building materials from the community

Ecotourism in Africa

Guests play a critical role in helping realise the dream and vision: to create a model in wise land management, integrating international travellers and rural people to their mutual benefit and demonstrating that wildlife can be preserved on a sustainable basis by all.

Positive Health Programme

Our partner CC Africa strongly believes in its people and was recently listed as one of three finalists in the Investor in People category of the 2005 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The October 2005 edition of Africa Geographic featured an article on AIDS and conversation, and highlighted the activities and programmes that various African companies are implementing in order to increase AIDS awareness and, in doing so, empower the communities taking care of some of the world's richest wilderness regions.

"Probably the most attractive program ... is that of CC Africa... CC Africa launched a Positive Health program in 2003 and in April and May last year ran two seven-day courses.... Their approach focuses on home-based care, gardens, counseling techniques and gender issues.... The health of the habitat is critical to the health of the individuals in it.... The conservation industry is uniquely positioned to take the treatment of HIV/AIDS in radically new directions.... Benefits [of the program] include acquiring 'hard skills' such as maintaining clean water, producing food, and home-based methods of dealing with illnesses that are not life threatening.... It takes only the will of ecologically minded people to make sure that the wild places are not lost."
Africa Geographic, October 2005

Getting there

Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is easily accessible by daily scheduled flights or private charter to Manyara airstrip, followed by a leisurely 2.5-hour game drive to the Lodge. We can pre-book and package all of your regional/internal flights and transfers, and provide a meet and greet service at all airports.

• There are daily international flights from Europe and South Africa to Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airports
• Daily scheduled flights from Arusha Airport to Manyara airstrip
• The road between Arusha and Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is in excellent condition and a road transfer from Arusha to the Park gates is only 1.5 hours
  Let Amanzi Travel arrange your flights for you

What is included

• Accommodation
• Three meals daily
• Soft drinks, house wines, local brand spirits, and beers
• Teas and coffees
• Refreshments on game drives
• Laundry
• Scheduled safari activities
• Emergency medical evacuation insurance
• Transfers from Manyara airstrip to Lake Manyara Tree Lodge

What is not included

• Telephone calls
• Safari Shop purchases
• Champagne, cognacs, fine wines, premium brand spirits, and cigars
• Gratuities
• Transfers not stipulated above
• National park fees and Crater conservancy fees

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