My 8 Favourite Things To Do In Malawi

Did you know I lived in Africa when I was just 23 years old? Talk about an amazing travel experience! Here are eight of my favourite things to do in Malawi.

​This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase, we may get a small commission.

One of my favourite things to do in Malawi was to watch the gorgeous sunsets over Lake Malawi. Photo by Craig Manners on Unsplash

My beaten, battered, dog-eared 2001 edition of Lonely Planet Malawi opens by describing how tourism brochures hype Malawi as “the warm heart of Africa” and, as much as they like to avoid generalizations, this seems particularly true as Malawians are among the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere.

​It’s been 20-some years since that paragraph was written, but it still holds as true to me today as it did when I first read those words in 2004, and I was preparing to leave graduate school for an internship with the Malawi Department of Fisheries and the Canadian International Development Agency. I worked as a gender analyst, and my work took me throughout the country, from cities to tiny villages. Malawi’s warm heart made for an unforgettable experience. 

Malawi is a small country in southeast Africa. When I first applied for the internship that would take me there, I knew nothing about Malawi. In fact, I was all muddled between Maui, Mali, and Bali – and I wasn’t close to any of them! The country borders Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. Visiting here is easier than you might think. It’s just a short flight from Nairobi to the north, Victoria Falls to the west, and Johannesburg to the south. 

While Malawi is admittedly not a destination for a classic “big 5” safari, the country has fantastic wildlife destinations plus many other experiences and attractions that should put it on any traveller’s bucket list.

​Here are some of my favourite must-do Malawi moments.

Photo by Aditya Septiansyah on Unsplash

Photo by Tamara Gerwinat on Unsplash

Photo by Black Chitsulo on Unsplash

Photo by Ray Aucott on Unsplash

Visit Dedza Pottery

Bringing home a complete set of pottery mugs isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Still, I knew I would make it happen from the moment I first stepped inside Dedza Pottery. I was utterly charmed by the hand-painted Malawi-inspired designs of animals, sunsets, and baobab trees, and my collection made it home intact! Factory tours are available for $4. A delightful restaurant onsite serves local favourites like chambo (fresh fish from Lake Malawi) and chicken with chips, but I loved their chicken lasagna and the moussaka. Be sure to order a coffee, as they use beans from northern Malawi.

Explore Liwonde National Park

This incredible national park needs to be more recognized. This is not the spot where you’ll check off all the “big five” from your wishlist, but there is an absolute wealth of wildlife here. Crocodiles, hippos, waterbucks, sables, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, elephants, black rhinoceros, and many more animals are abundant. Cheetahs were reintroduced here in 2017 (the first wild cheetahs in the country for more than 20 years) and lions in 2018. The safari tents at Mvuu Lodge are a nice touch of comfort, and packages here include game drives and boat safaris, but you can just as easily explore the park DIY style in your own vehicle (I’ve done both, with excellent results.)

Shop The Mzuzu Market

As Malawi’s northernmost city, Mzuzu has a bright, sunny, cosmopolitan vibe, partly due to the many travellers who pass through here to and from Tanzania. I spent many happy hours browsing the clothing and fabric stalls of the leading market – and I still have all the fabric I picked up there! For me, it’s one of the best shopping destinations in the country.

Snorkel Cape Maclear

For decades, Cape Maclear was the spot for overlanders looking for mid-way rest on the Cape-to-Cairo route. With its gorgeous clear waters and host of little restaurants and guesthouses, it’s easy to see why this small town on the edge of Lake Malawi was so trendy. These days, Cape Maclear isn’t the only act in town, so to speak, and travellers are spoiled for choice when it comes to tourist-friendly spots. But the Cape is just as pretty and relaxing as ever and remains one of the best snorkelling and diving spots in southern Africa.

Historically inclined travellers will be interested to learn that the town was named by fabled explorer David Livingstone, honouring his friend, astronomer Thomas Maclear. Meanwhile, those interested in science may be intrigued by this tidbit: For decades, Lake Malawi was reputed to be free from bilharzia (also known as schistosomiasis). This waterborne parasite causes serious health complications and is sadly familiar throughout Africa – including Lake Malawi. A combination of misinformation and canny tour operators let the fabrication of a bilharzia-free lake run unchallenged until well-documented cases gained prominence in the 1990s.

Escape to Likoma Island 

Lake Malawi is the heart and soul of the country, and lakeshore communities (like Cape Maclear) are vibrant, bustling destinations supported by fishing and tourism. But a lot is happening ON the lake as well. Likoma Island is close to Mozambique, so close that you can see the shore, but the island is decidedly Malawian, relaxed, friendly, and deliciously beautiful. Likoma Island has some of the finest sunsets I’ve ever seen, gorgeous flowers, great bars, a stunning cathedral (the legacy of David Livingston’s influence), and spectacular baobab trees. 

The vibe on Likoma Island was very young and hip (or teenagers are just way cooler than me worldwide). However, the general rule in rural Malawi is that travellers should dress conservatively. Shorts and tank tops are okay in sporty contexts (like diving centres) but are seen as being too informal and immodest in many other rural locations, though just about anything goes in cities. This is the legacy of Hastings Banda’s dictatorship, which ended in the 1990s. Travellers from that era will no doubt remember that female backpackers had to don skirts and long hair wasn’t permitted for men (and impromptu, not-exactly-voluntary haircuts took place at border crossings). 

Observe Wildlife At The Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary 

Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city, doesn’t exactly have the most exciting of reputations. Yet, as someone who lived there, I have to disagree. There’s a lot to see and do in Lilongwe! At the top of my list is the Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary. The Lilongwe Wildlife Trust operates the nature sanctuary and is the only one of its kind in the country. It’s a remarkable green space in the city’s heart and worth visiting. 

I’m not the only one who loves this spot. I asked my friend and fellow travel writer Brianne Miers what she would recommend for someone visiting Malawi, and she said: “I can share a recommendation for the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust facility in Lilongwe! You can tour it, go hiking, and there’s an amazing cafe. Also lots of volunteer opportunities.”

Young Vanessa in her early travel days!

Appreciate History In Mangochi 

The southern Malawian town of Mangochi was the first place I lived in Malawi, and it turned out to be a great ice-breaker. People would invariably tell me how lucky I was to live in such a great destination, and they were absolutely right. Mangochi is positioned at the southern tip of Lake Malawi and has access to all the usual lake-side activities and amenities such as hotels, resorts, and guest houses. However, this beautiful location has an ugly past. Mangochi was once home to an early slave market and, later, a colonial administrative center known as Fort Johnston under British rule. Today, some interesting sites include a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery (next to the Post Office), a large mosque, a clock tower, a memorial to a tragic shipwreck, and a small museum.

Shop For Carvings

Malawi offers some of the finest wooden handicrafts and carvings in southern Africa. A signature item to the chief’s chair. You’ll find them in every size imaginable, from the gigantic to the tiny. I came home with two medium-sized chairs (which I used to sit in for years and now are more ornamental), and it’s one of the best buys I’ve ever made. If you’re wondering what you’d do with the teeny-tiny chairs, you can use them for more than just decoration. I’ve seen them in hotel bathrooms around Malawi as a cute way to stack toilet paper and keep it off the floor!

Other items to look out for include end tables with tripod-style legs and removable, reversible, circular table tops (mine have animal carvings on one side and game board tops on the other). I love my palm-sized wooden elephant, but I slightly regret not getting a giant giraffe that is ten-plus feet tall. How would I have got it home, what would I have done with it – who knows? But it was gorgeous. Some great places to shop include Lilongwe’s old town (next to the Post Office), Nkhata Bay, and Senga Bay.


If you enjoyed this post, you'll also like:
Crossing The Zimbabwe Zambia Border On Foot
What To Eat In Maun, Botswana 
How To See Baines Baobab in Botswana