Malawi does not get the attention it deserves. While the big safari circuits — Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana — pull in the crowds, Malawi quietly gets on with offering some of the most rewarding wildlife experiences on the continent. No convoys of Land Cruisers at a lion sighting. No queues. Just you, a knowledgeable guide, and a lot of animals.
Liwonde National Park: Africa’s best-kept secret
Liwonde sits in southern Malawi along the Shire River and has undergone a genuine transformation over the past decade. African Parks took over management in 2015 and reintroduced lions, cheetahs and wild dogs. The Big Five are now present. Elephant populations are thriving. And the birding — over 400 recorded species — is exceptional even by African standards.
What sets a Liwonde safari apart is the water. Game drives run alongside boat safaris on the Shire River, where hippos surface metres from your boat and crocodiles line the banks. It is the kind of wildlife viewing that feels intimate rather than staged.
The best time to visit Liwonde is May through October during the dry season, when animals concentrate around the river and vegetation thins enough to see clearly. June, July and August are peak months — nights cool, days clear, sightings frequent.
Nyika National Park: highlands unlike anything else in Africa
Nyika is a completely different experience. Malawi’s largest national park sits on a high plateau in the north, at altitudes above 2,500 metres. The landscape looks more like Scottish moorland than what most people picture when they think of African safari. Rolling grasslands, montane forests, rare orchids, and almost total solitude.
Zebra are abundant on Nyika. Eland, roan antelope, leopard. The plateau is one of the best places in Africa for horse safaris and mountain biking — activities that put you inside the landscape. Birding is exceptional, with several species endemic to the plateau.
Nyika is a destination in its own right and is best combined with Liwonde on a longer trip of ten days or more. The journey north is an adventure — most guests fly or allow several days for the drive.
The bush and beach itinerary
One of Malawi’s greatest advantages as a safari destination is Lake Malawi. A week in the south can comfortably combine Liwonde National Park with a few nights on the lake — the classic Malawi “bush and beach” safari. After days of game drives and boat safaris in Liwonde, the lake offers total relaxation: clear water, colourful fish, and some of Africa’s most beautiful small island lodges.
Lake properties we recommend pairing with a Liwonde safari include Blue Zebra Island Lodge, Kayak Africa and Club Makokola. Each offers something different, from barefoot island camps to more comfortable lodge settings.
Why Malawi belongs on your safari shortlist
The crowds are simply not there. Peak season at Liwonde feels like an off-season day elsewhere in Africa — and that changes the quality of every game drive.
Malawi is also genuinely welcoming. The people, the pace, the lack of over-tourism. It is a destination that rewards travellers who have done East Africa and want something that feels less trampled.
Central African Wilderness Safaris has been leading safaris in Malawi since 1987. That depth of local knowledge — knowing where the leopard walks at dusk, which channels to take on the river — is not something you find at a destination that opened to tourism last year.
Getting here
Lilongwe is the main entry point, with connections from Johannesburg, Nairobi and Addis Ababa. From Lilongwe it is a straightforward drive south to Liwonde. Get in touch and we will help you plan the right trip.
