“This jungle thrives in dry country because it drinks from below: groundwater seeping out of the Rift Valley wall keeps its giant trees green all year.”
About Groundwater Forest
The Groundwater Forest forms the lush gateway zone of Lake Manyara National Park, sustained by springs at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. The park was established to protect a remarkable range of habitats packed into a small area, from this spring-fed forest through grassland and acacia woodland to the soda lake, supporting an unusually diverse concentration of wildlife.
The Groundwater Forest is a lush, unexpected band of jungle at the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park in northern Tanzania, fed not by rainfall alone but by water seeping out of the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. Towering fig and mahogany trees create a cool, green canopy alive with monkeys and birds, a striking contrast to the dry plains beyond.
Towering fig and mahogany trees create a cool, green canopy alive with monkeys and birds, a striking contrast to the dry plains beyond.
A Forest Fed From Below
The forest exists because groundwater, filtered down through the highlands and the porous rock of the Rift wall, emerges in springs at the foot of the escarpment, keeping the soil permanently moist. This steady underground supply, rather than the seasonal rains, sustains the giant trees. The dense canopy shelters troops of baboons and blue monkeys, and the dappled forest is usually the first habitat visitors pass through on entering Lake Manyara.
The Experience
Entering the park and immediately pass beneath a high green canopy of figs and mahoganies, with baboons and blue monkeys in the branches and birds calling overhead, the air cool and humid. The forest gives way quickly to open country and the lakeshore, but this shady, jungle-like entrance is a memorable and distinctive start to a Lake Manyara safari.
Why It Matters
The Groundwater Forest showcases the ecological diversity that makes Lake Manyara famous, a place where many habitats meet in a compact area. It demonstrates how hidden hydrology, the unseen flow of groundwater from the Rift wall, can create a rich forest in otherwise dry surroundings, supporting primates and birdlife.
The Groundwater Forest showcases the ecological diversity that makes Lake Manyara famous, a place where many habitats meet in a compact area.
Why Visit
A cool, jungle-like spring-fed forest of giant trees and monkeys at the entrance to Lake Manyara, a lush contrast to the surrounding dry plains and lakeshore.
✦ Insider Tips
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It is the lush entrance zone of Lake Manyara National Park.
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The forest stays green year-round thanks to groundwater springs.
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It contrasts sharply with the park's open plains and soda lake.
