Malawi

Lilongwe is an open, low-rise capital divided between the Old Town (markets, transport, local life) and the City Centre (government buildings, embassies, modern Malawi). The Lilongwe Wildlife Centre (rescue and rehabilitation centre for lions, leopards and chimpanzees, with direct viewing of habituated animals used in anti-poaching education) is the most visited attraction in the capital.

💡 Malawi has earned its “Warm Heart of Africa” reputation consistently — travellers cite the genuine warmth, openness and curiosity of Malawians as exceptional even by African standards. The country has no oil or mineral wealth, remains one of the world’s poorest nations by GDP, and yet consistently scores among the highest in traveller hospitality rankings.

3h from Lilongwe. Liwonde National Park (548km² on the Shire River) has been transformed since African Parks took over management in 2015 — poaching reduced to near-zero, hippo and crocodile boat safaris on the Shire River, elephant herds returning, sable antelope and now translocated lions and cheetah. The Shire River boat safari is the finest wildlife boat ride in southern Africa.

💡 African Parks (a non-profit conservation organisation) took over Liwonde in 2015 and within three years had eliminated commercial poaching, restored wildlife populations and developed a sustainable tourism model. The elephant population grew from 300 to 900+ by 2023; 17 black rhinos were translocated from South Africa in 2021 — the first in Malawi for decades.

A dawn game drive in the mopane woodland (lions tracking elephant trails, sable antelope, hippos on land at night) and a walking safari with an armed ranger — approaching elephants on foot at 20–50m in the dense riverine forest. The Mvuu Wilderness Camp or Kuthengo Camp overlooking the Shire River for the afternoon.

💡 The Shire River at Liwonde has the highest density of hippos in Malawi — up to 200 hippos visible from the boat safari in a single morning, lounging in the shallows, surfacing alongside the boat. The crocodile density is equally high; the combination makes it one of the most wildlife-saturated river boat experiences in Africa.

3h from Liwonde. Cape Maclear (Lake Malawi National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site — the first freshwater underwater national park in the world, inscribed 1984) — a bay of extraordinary clarity with 500+ species of cichlid fish (the most diverse freshwater fish community on earth) visible by snorkel in water as clear as the Maldives.

💡 Lake Malawi contains more species of fish than any other lake in the world — approximately 1,000 species, of which 99% are endemic cichlids found nowhere else. The speciation occurred in an estimated 1–4 million years, the fastest known vertebrate evolution on earth. The fish are visible in crystalline shallow water — snorkelling here is the freshwater equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef.

A full day by kayak around the Cape Maclear peninsula — paddling to Domwe Island (a forest island with no development, walking trails and the finest snorkelling on the lake), camping on the beach or returning to the village. The fishing villages along the lake shore for fresh chambo (Oreochromis karongae — the lake’s finest eating fish) grilled over charcoal.

💡 Chambo (the local name for two species of Oreochromis cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi) is the most economically important fish in Malawi — it provides 70% of all animal protein consumed in the country. Grilled fresh on the lake shore with nsima (maize porridge) and tomato relish, it costs MWK 1,000–3,000 at a local restaurant.

3h from Cape Maclear. Nkhata Bay — a deep natural harbour on the western shore of Lake Malawi, surrounded by forest-covered hills, with the most authentic and relaxed traveller scene on the lake — kayaking, snorkelling and the Ilala ferry (the MV Ilala, the 56-year-old vessel that has connected Lake Malawi’s lakeshore communities since 1951).

💡 The MV Ilala (built 1951 in Scotland, shipped in pieces and assembled on the lake) is one of the oldest working passenger ferries in Africa — operating a weekly circuit of 14 stops along the 580km lake since its launch. The overnight first-class cabin journey from Nkhata Bay to Chilumba is one of the most atmospheric lake voyages in Africa.

45-min flight from Mzuzu to Chelinda. Nyika National Park (3,200km², the largest national park in Malawi, a high plateau at 2,000–2,600m with rolling grassland, montane forest and the highest concentration of orchids in Africa — 200+ species) for dawn horseback riding through herds of roan antelope, eland and zebra. Fly from Lilongwe (LLW).

💡 Nyika Plateau has the finest horseback safari in Africa — riding through open grassland at 2,300m altitude through herds of roan antelope, eland, zebra and Burchell’s zebra that barely notice the horses. The plateau receives its name from the Tumbuka language: “Nyika” means “where the water comes from.” It is the source of 8 of Malawi’s major rivers.