The breathtaking Malawi National Park can be found right on the edge of Lake Malawi Africa. The freshwater within the lake is home to cichlids, which are colorful fish, and they’ll draw your eyes throughout your time at the water’s edge. Those fish, along with the high quality of water and the rest of the environment, allowed this park to be named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1984.
While those are just a couple major reasons to visit this park, we know that there is much more that you will fall in love with!
An Abundance of History
Lake Malawi was discovered in 1859 by Dr. David Livingstone, but he called it Lake Nyasa at the time. As a visitor, you must take the time to find the massive baobab tree, which is more than 800 years old, as it is considered a fantastic place to sit and contemplate life or whatever else is on your mind.
We recommend taking a book or a journal with you so you can spend quite some time under a baobab tree as you relax and soak in the ambiance. You may also stumble upon five gravestones as you are wandering around and that’s where you can pay your respects to the five missionaries that are buried there.
Too Many Animals to Count
While the cichlids will definitely capture your attention, those little creatures aren’t the only animals that you’ll see during your time at the Malawi National Park. We urge you to keep your eyes searching for chacma baboons, leopards, African fish eagles, vervet monkeys and hippopotamuses. Oh, and make sure if you find a crocodile, that you quickly run the other way!
What You Must Do During Your Visit
You can spend hours or even days, exploring Malawi National Park, so please make sure that you allow yourself enough time, or you may find yourself not ready to leave. There are numerous ways to see all the history, animals and the views of this park, and we recommend doing a little of each for the best experience.
The water is the best place to see some of the infamous animals in the area, which is why you’re going to want to go scuba diving first. Afterward, you can choose to rent a kayak or simply grab a tube and float along the top of the shimmering water. It’ll be a blast.
When you’re ready to set foot on dry land again, hiking the trails will give you a unique perspective of the entire park. It can get hot out on the trails, so make sure to take plenty of water with you so you don’t need to turn around before you have found the best picturesque view to capture on film.
We all agree that you have to stay at this park later in the day because the sunsets are just simply amazing. The sun creates a glow over the nearby mountains that loom over the lake and once it sets, you’ll see stars shining in both the water and the nighttime sky. This is a sight no one wants to miss!
Everyone who has been to Malawi National Park loves all the adventures that can be found there, and we know that you will have the same experience when you get there as well!