Malawi Safari Travel Guide and Map | Country Information

Kayaking Lake Malawi Lying at the southern end of Africa's Great Rift Valley, the Lake Malawi National Park is a World Heritage Site and an area of overwhelming beauty. It is also the first freshwater marine reserve on earth, sporting thousands of cichlid tropical fish that are vital to the bio-diversity of our planet. The waters are crystal clear throughout the year and the kayaking and snorkelling is outstanding. detailed information...
The Best of Malawi - 8 days This Malawi lodge safari explores the best of Malawi. It visits Liwonde National Park, Lake Malawi and Nyika, offering a diversity of beautiful scenery, wildlife and relaxation on the lake shores. detailed itinerary...
The Best of Northern Malawi - 8 days Spend 4 nights in the Nyika National Park at the unique Chelinda Lodge. Enjoy horse riding, flyfishing, game drives and bush walks in the highlands of northern Malawi. Then travel to Kaya Mawa on Likoma Island in Lake Malawi for 3 nights. Experience absolute relaxation and wonderful views of Lake Malawi. detailed itinerary...
The Best of Central Africa - 8 days This Malawi lodge safari explores the best of Zambia and Malawi on a safari which can be customised for any duration. The itinerary below works well with eight days. Two of the region's finest wildlife parks are combined with the shores of Lake Malawi to offer a superb wildlife, scenic and cultural experience in one of Africa's friendliest and least spoiled regions. The combination of aerial viewing, open 4x4 vehicle game drives, foot safaris and boating provides guests with an enriching and varied experience. detailed itinerary...

GENERAL INFORMATION - MALAWI

Livingstone's last journey · Lilongwe · Liwonde National Park ·
Nyika National Park

Modern day Malawi is still very rural and poor. The people are fantastically friendly which is why it is known as the warm heart of Africa - and it is a land of mountains, plateaus and an enormous lake. Essentially a rural subsistence life, thousands of Malawians lively hoods are derived from the lake and fishing related activities. In big and small markets throughout Malawi shining silver piles of dried fish “usipa” are sold.

Closer to the lake fresh fish is available. ‘Chambo’ is the most delicious! Children receive wonderful names: Happiness, Brightness, Love, Gift, Rejoice or Last (which is quite common!) – also look out for the quirky names of establishments – some of our favourites being Top Hits bottle store, Mind your own business Restaurant and The Hang Over clinic! Malawi does not have a large volume of tourists, and this provides a good part of its charm.

Livingstone's last journey: In 1866 Livingstone made his final expedition to Lake Malawi. During this time he was abandoned by several African followers he had recruited who claimed that he had been killed! Meanwhile Livingstone was in the area now called Northern Zambia only intending to be gone for a few months – but was not seen or heard of for over 2 years! Livingstone was found by Henry Stanley on the banks of Lake Tanganyika in 1871 where he uttered the famous words” Dr. Livingstone I presume” Stanley was unable to persuade Livingstone to go with him and Livingstone finally died at the village of Chitambo in Zambia in 1873.

Lilongwe: Nearly created whole in the late 1960s and early 1970s to become the country's new capital in 1975, Lilongwe is a sprawling place with limited interest for travellers. This means there are an awful lot of awful modern administrative buildings in what's referred to variously as the New City or City Centre. This is the area where you'll find the ministries, embassies, airline offices, travel agents and a collection of office buildings and mini-malls called Capital City Shopping Centre.
Far more inspiring is Old Town, a few kilometres to the southwest, where you'll find the market, several restaurants and cafes, the bus station and a good range of accommodation. The heart of Old Town is the market, which is jammed with stalls selling everything from pots and pans, car and bike parts, empty plastic containers, fruit, vegetables, toothpaste, live chickens and dried fish. It's worth poking around even if you don't buy anything.

Liwonde National Park: Liwonde is the most well-known national park in the country, well-managed with a good stock of game and beautiful scenery. Lying south of Lake Malawi, it includes part of Lake Malombe and the Shire River. Thousands of hippos and crocodiles live in the Shire, and hundreds of elephants can be found in the park. There are several species of antelope and a pair of re-introduced rhinos. Most of the game can be seen in the northern part of the park. There's also great birdlife. Much of the park closes in the wet season (April to October), though the main lodge and camp stay open (you'll have to get there by boat). The park is located 205km (130mi) southeast of Lilongwe. The main gate is 6km (4mi) east of Liwonde, from where there's no public transport available to the park, but hitching is feasible, especially on weekends. Buses and trains run between the capital and Liwonde.

Nyika National Park: The rolling hills of the Nyika Plateau, averaging about 2000m (6560ft) above sea level, are covered with a mix of mopane grassland and mimbo woodland. Other areas are covered in dense evergreen forests, and there are pockets of damp grassy bog. The park is famous for its wildflowers (including 120 species of orchid), which grow like mad after the rains (November to April), and attract a broad array of wildlife. Most common are the large roan antelope and the smaller reedbuck; you'll also see zebra, warthog, blue monkey (in the woodlands) and over 250 species of bird.