Lake Victoria, located in eastern central Africa is the largest Lake in Africa, gained its name after British Indian Army officer John Hanning Speke named it after Queen Victoria. A freshwater lake, that is approximately 400,000 years old.
The lake has an incredibly wide variety of fish with hundreds of colourful species with their own distinct appearance. Full of wildlife Lake Victoria is also home to eagles, cormorants and egrets, hunting the fish in the lake. You will also find a herd of hippopotamuses, African antelopes and the African Clawless Otter. Lake Victoria is one of the largest lakes in Africa, however only holds about 15% of the water that is held in Lake Tanganyika on the West of Tanzania.
Another spectacular lake in Tanzania is Lake Manyara, also part of the Lake Manyara National Park. Located in the North East of Tanzania, the lake makes up 77 square miles of the 127 square miles of the park. The Park is home to a large flock of flamingos and during the wet season you can see them in their thousands.
The park is excellent for safari, with large numbers of elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, it also has Kepards, and the lions are known for tree climbing. Lake Manyara has an Airport so it is easy to combine with other parts of Tanzania, or a flight out to Zanzibar afterwards. You can also enter the park from Arusha, which is the road to the Ngorongoro Crater.
