Lake Manyara reinvests in safari experience as TANAPA rolls out red carpet for AFCON 2027

THURSDAY June 11, 2026

By Adam Ihucha

Tranquillity News Correspondent, Tanzania

As East Africa prepares to host the biggest football tournament in its history, Tanzania’s national parks are positioning themselves for a different challenge: Converting football supporters into safari travellers.

When the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off on 19 June, jointly hosted by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to move across the region over four weeks of competition.

For Tanzania, whose famed northern safari circuit lies within easy reach of host city Arusha, the tournament presents a rare convergence of sport, tourism, and conservation.

At the centre of those preparations is the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), which says parks near tournament venues are already expanding visitor services, preparing official watch zones and managing capacity for an anticipated surge in international arrivals.

“Our teams are enhancing visitor services, preparing official watch zones, and managing capacity to ensure parks can comfortably host the expected increase in sports tourists,” said TANAPA Conservation Commissioner CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.

Among the parks expected to benefit most is Lake Manyara National Park, one of Tanzania’s oldest protected areas.

Established 66 years ago, the park lies about 126 kilometres southwest of Arusha and can be reached in less than two hours by road or approximately 20 minutes by air from Arusha Airport.

TANAPA officials believe accessibility alone will not be enough.

Instead, the park is developing a range of adventure-based tourism products aimed at attracting a younger and more active generation of travellers arriving for AFCON.

“Our experts at Lake Manyara are working overtime to finalise new tourism activities that resonate with sports enthusiasts, alongside the park’s traditional attractions,” Kuji said.

A safari beyond the game drive

Lake Manyara has long been known for packing remarkable ecological diversity into a relatively compact landscape.

The park is famous for its tree-climbing lions, large baboon troops, dense elephant populations and more than 400 recorded bird species.

Our teams are enhancing visitor services, preparing official watch zones, and managing capacity to ensure parks can comfortably host the expected increase in sports tourists,” the TANAPA Conservation Commissioner, CPA (T) Musa Nassoro Kuji.

Although rhinoceros are absent, four members of Africa’s celebrated “Big Five” — elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo — can be found within the park.

Now managers are broadening the visitor experience.

The Assistant Conservation Commissioner, Dr Yustina Kiwango, the park’s commanding officer, said five new adventure activities are being refined with AFCON visitors in mind: A zip line, a giant swing, canoeing excursions, a canopy walk and hiking trails along the Great Rift Valley escarpment.

“We have developed these adventure activities specifically for tourists with a sporting mindset who will be attending AFCON matches,” she said.

The additions complement existing activities including game drives, night safaris, guided nature walks, birdwatching, and excursions through the Marang’ Forest.

From the towering Rift Valley escarpment to the alkaline waters of Lake Manyara, the park encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes within a relatively small area.

“No matter which direction you approach from, the scenery is extraordinary,” Dr Kiwango said. “You see the Rift Valley escarpment, the cliffs, the lake, and an uninterrupted green landscape.”

The mystery of the tree-climbing lions

Among Lake Manyara’s biggest attractions are its tree-climbing lions, a behaviour rarely observed among lion populations elsewhere in Africa.

Conservationists believe the habit developed as an adaptation to local waterlogged conditions.

Resting in trees offers relief from heat and humidity, helps avoid biting insects and provides a vantage point for spotting prey and monitoring potential threats.

Researchers also believe the behaviour is socially learned rather than genetically inherited.

Cubs observe adult lions climbing trees and replicate the practice, allowing it to pass from one generation to the next.

The result is one of the most distinctive lion populations on the continent.

A biodiversity powerhouse

Less visible, but equally important, is Lake Manyara’s groundwater forest, sustained by underground water flowing from the slopes of the Great Rift Valley.

The forest remains green throughout the year, even during prolonged dry seasons.

Towering indigenous species, including sycamore fig (Ficus sycomorus), African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca), Trichilia emetica, and Croton macrostachyus, create a dense canopy that regulates temperature, preserves moisture, and provides refuge for wildlife.

Elephants, monkeys, birds, and countless smaller species depend on this habitat during dry periods, while the forest’s root systems help stabilise soils and regulate water cycles throughout the ecosystem.

Conservationists often describe it as the ecological engine of the park.

The lake that shapes life

Lake Manyara itself is an alkaline lake formed within a closed basin. Rivers and springs carry minerals into the lake, while evaporation removes water and leaves salts behind.

These conditions limit the number of fish species that can survive but support vast populations of algae, specialised bacteria, and microscopic aquatic organisms.

Those organisms form the foundation of a food chain that sustains flamingos and numerous other waterbirds.

Seasonal rainfall continually alters the balance. Wet years reduce salinity and often boost biological productivity, while prolonged drought increases salt concentrations and favours species adapted to extreme conditions.

The lake effectively determines which organisms can survive and thrive within its waters.

Seven ecosystems, one destination

Despite its modest size, Lake Manyara contains roughly seven distinct ecosystems.

These include the groundwater forest, acacia woodlands and grasslands, seasonal floodplains, the alkaline lake ecosystem, permanent freshwater springs, the Rift Valley escarpment and the Marang’ Forest – a dry woodland ecosystem incorporated into the park in 2009.

The Marang’ Forest hosts characteristic miombo woodland species such as Brachystegia and Julbernardia, adding another layer of biodiversity to an already complex landscape.

Together, these ecosystems create an extraordinary concentration of habitats within a single protected area.

“It is a small park with the ecological variety of a much larger one,” Dr Kiwango said.

Looking beyond AFCON

For TANAPA, AFCON represents more than a month-long sporting event.

Officials see it as an opportunity for attracting new investment and introduce Tanzania’s conservation assets to audiences who may never have considered a safari holiday.

Dr Kiwango is already encouraging investors to explore high-end accommodation opportunities within the Marang’ Forest area, which she believes holds significant untapped potential.

Among the ideas under consideration is a golf course integrated into the forest environment.

Whether football supporters embrace those ambitions remains to be seen.

What is clear is that Tanzania intends to use AFCON 2027 as a showcase not only for its sporting credentials but also for its natural heritage.

If the strategy succeeds, visitors arriving for Africa’s biggest football tournament may leave with memories that extend far beyond the stadium — of lions resting in acacia trees, flamingos gathering on alkaline shores and one of East Africa’s most diverse ecosystems unfolding within sight of the Great Rift Valley.