Lake Manyara National Park is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The Park can also be reached from Babati the capital of Manyara Region. Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake at an altitude of 960 m (3,150 ft), formed in a depression in the Rift Valley System. When full, the lake is a maximum of 10 ft (3.0 m) deep and covers two-thirds of the park. The lake has no outflow, but is fed by underground springs and by several permanent streams that drain surrounding Ngorongoro Highlands.

Lake Manyara National Park centres around its eponymous alkaline lake, a key habitat for hundreds of bird species. Between November and April, thousands of greater and lesser pink flamingos gather on its shores, along with pink-backed pelicans, yellow-billed storks, grey herons and pods of hippo.

Surrounding the lake are marshlands, grassy plains and acacia woodlands, home to tree-climbing lion and long-tusked elephant. Giraffe strut across the grasslands, where herds of buffalo, zebra and wildebeest graze.