Central Malawi Travel Guide

Explore Lilongwe Lilongwe mixes government corridors with open-air markets: the Old Town flea markets, botanical gardens and nearby lake outings draw travelers looking for Malawi’s urban and rural crossover. Explore Salima Salima hugs Lake Malawi’s shoreline and draws sailors, windsurfers and catamaran charters; expect busy fish markets, lakeside guesthouses and day trips to islands and reed-lined bays. Explore Dedza Perched on the Dedza Plateau, the town is known for cool air, rolling tea slopes and Dedza Pottery workshops. Explore Kasungu Kasungu’s claim on tourist maps is its national park: open savannahs for game drives, large tusked elephants, birding, and the slow rhythms of rural market towns and tobacco farms nearby. Explore Nkhotakota Nkhotakota sits along Lake Malawi and the mouth of the Bua River, known for boat safaris, canoeing, fishing villages and the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve where forest walks and elephant spoor are the draw. Explore Ntchisi Ntchisi’s main draw is the forest reserve: compact trails, birdlife, simple lodges and a chance to see Malawi’s montane woodlands and community-run timber plots. Explore Chipoka On Lake Malawi’s shoreline, Chipoka draws fishermen, ferry connections and low-key beach bays; visitors come for dawn pirogues, grilled tilapia at the jetty, birding along reed beds and the Sunday market’s dried fish and maize. Explore Mchinji On Malawi’s western border, Mchinji is a dusty transit town for overland travelers crossing to Zambia; visitors pass through for local markets, roadside nsima stalls, and to arrange onward minibus connections.