Lake Malawi

Visit Lake Malawi, a natural beauty with breathtaking views of golden sands, clear blue waters and distant shoreline of misty mountains. The lake runs from the Northern Region of Malawi through the Central Region to part of the Southern Region of Malawi. It covers one fifth of Malawi’s surface area. Known as the calendar Lake, Lake Malawi is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide.

Lake Malawi is a natural aquarium, home to over 1000 species, most of which are endemic including the colorful cichlid fish locally known as Mbuna and the tasty Chambo.  The local fishing industry relies on a whitebait-like fish called Usipa and Utaka, caught in large quantities in deeper waters. Visitors will see the catch on drying racks near Malawi’s many fishing villages. Larger species like Mpasa (Lake Salmon) and Kampango are popular, but the favourite remains the bream-like Chambo.

On the southern end of the lake, the government designated the Lake Malawi National Park a protected area aimed at protecting fish and aquatic habitants. Located at the stunning Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi National Park is an aquatic and terrestrial park, the first freshwater national park in the world. In 1984, UNESCO inscribed the National Park as a world heritage site owing to the endemic fish species found there. The park has over 500 different species of fish.

Cichlids in Lake Malawi National Park

There are several rocky islands floating on the lake that one can come across. Visitors get an up-close view of the fish eagle and Mbuna fish at the “Bird Island” in Mangochi. Likoma and Chizumulu Island in the northern part of Lake Malawi also provide an experience of Malawi like no other. Likoma is best known for St Peter’s Cathedral, third largest  church in Africa.

Part of Likoma Island

Blue Zebra in the Central part of Lake Malawi

The Lake of stars as it is also known, will leave you mesmerized by the myriad winking galaxies glittered from the crystal facets of water by day and the beautiful orange lights from the lanterns used by fishermen catching fish at night that appear like stars.