While most travelers know Serengeti and the great migration, few have heard about Tarangire or Arusha National Park. But the smaller parks of northern Tanzania often provide a more unique and intimate experience than their bigger sibling. Not least, because most travelers just stop here along the way, so when the sun sets, you have it (almost) all to yourself.
Lake Manyara National Park
This is one of the smaller national parks in Northern Tanzania but undoubtedly one of the most interesting in terms of wildlife. Lake Manyara is only a 325sq km park. This might sound small, but, mind-blowingly, it has 11 different ecosystems!
Wayo Manyara Green Camp, Tanzania
The lake is the center of the park: muddy lake shores, ground water forests, acacia woodlands, flood plains, mountains, and montane forests create a rare diversity, and more than 550 different species of birds have been identified.
Manyara is a long, narrow park wedged between Lake Manyara and the Gregory rift. Famous for the spectacular tree-climbing lions, great elephants, and many giant buffaloes, this park generally is one of the first stops for a safari visitor. At times, this makes it slightly congested at the park gate where baboons and monkeys are the first wildlife sighting. But a good way to avoid these crowds is to enter the park via the more remote Southern gate.
We have a stunningly located camp at the base of the Endabash waterfalls. A camp where guests enjoy sitting by the fire on the banks of the river and view wildlife in the distance. It is a camp where you can do what Wayo does best; Get your shoes off and climb the waterfalls, swim in rock pools, and spend as much time as you want out of the vehicle in spectacular nature with the mountains in the background.
The Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world. A true wonder of nature. 260 sq km large this caldera with walls 600m high is literally a massive “fishbowl” of wildlife. With an estimated 25,000 mammals inside the crater, it is one of the world's most pristine wildlife destinations.
The caldera is part of a much larger protected area. The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is a stand-alone authority managed by its own administration. The reason for not being a National Park is to allow the local Masai to have a homeland.
The Ngorongoro Crater is a true wonder of nature: 260 sq km large caldera, walls 600m high and 25,000 mammals inside the Crater it is literally a massive “fishbowl” of wildlife.
The Crater is amazing and the whole world knows this… which means that it's not uncommon that the Crater gets overrun by safari vehicles.
At Journey's Intent, we understand the dynamics of tourism in and around the Crater extremely well. Jean actually lived on the Crater rim for a few years, and our knowledge of the Crater ensures that we get you in and out of the Crater when there are the least amount of visitors. The hiking opportunities around the Crater rim are absolutely fantastic, and our local partner offer local-based tented experiences in beautiful settings not far from the Crater.
Timing on the visit, know-how about the Crater and the rim, and moving away from the Crater lodges for sleeping are key. If this visit is done correctly the Crater is the greatest wildlife destination on the planet!
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park is located South of Manyara. This is a larger park that stretches 2,850 sq km and is generally what we call a dry season park. The park gets its name from the Tarangire River that runs through the park.
From July until November, during the dry season, this river carries the only water in the entire ecosystem. This ensures that every elephant in the region has to move into this valley for its daily water consumption. An adult elephant needs up to 200 liters of water a day!
These majestic beasts alongside the Baobab trees make this park a beautiful home for these gentle giants.
At Journey’s Intent, we regularly operate a small, expeditionary camp in this park from where we do walking, canoeing, and game drives.
Arusha National Park
A tiny national park on the outskirts of Arusha town. The 137 sq km park encompasses Mount Meru and a few smaller crater lakes. This park is perfect for a one-day game drive with a short walk and canoe safari. It is a really great way to spend the day as a start of the holiday while in Arusha.