Introduction
Whether you want action or sloth, Malawi is the place for basking in either. The tourist brochures bill Malawi as 'the warm heart of Africa', and for once the hype is true. Malawi's scenery is gorgeous and varied and Malawians tend to be extremely friendly toward travellers. Nature lovers will adore the national parks and game reserves, mountain hiking and plateau trekking.
Destination Facts
Capital: Lilongwe
President: Bingu wa Mutharika
Government: multi-party democracy
Time zone: GMT +2
Area: 118484
Population: 11600000
Languages: Protestant (55%), Roman Catholic (20%), Muslim (20%), traditional indigenous beliefs
Currency: Kwacha (MK)
Country Dialing Code: 265
Getting There
The best time to visit Malawi overall is in the dry season, which lasts from late April to October or November. If you're coming to see wildlife, make it late in the dry season, when animals converge at water holes. But beware, the heat can be unpleasant, especially in the lowlands. The landscape is much more attractive and conditions less oppressive from May to July, but there are fewer animals about. The early dry season is the best time for birdwatching; it's also exceedingly hot, exceptionally wet or both.
Getting around
You can travel around Malawi by air, road, rail or boat. Distances between major centres are short and the roads are good. Air Malawi has a couple of flights daily between Lilongwe and Blantyre, and four flights weekly between the capital and Mzuzu. The main airport is 25km (15mi) north of Lilongwe. Taxis are the easiest way into town, and there's also an airport shuttle that will drop you at several central hotels. Most buses in Malawi are operated by a private company called Shire Bus Lines, which runs several different kinds of bus at varying levels of comfort and price. The most comfortable (and most expensive) is Coachline, a luxury line that runs non-stop between Lilongwe and Blantyre (about 5 hours), and between Lilongwe and Mzuzu (about 7 hours). The Express service is also pretty good: fast, comfortable buses between the main towns with limited stops and no standing passengers. Long-distance (local or ordinary) buses are slow and stop everywhere. The train in Malawi is slow, crowded, limited (there are no passenger trains to the capital, for instance) and not particularly useful unless you're headed between Liwonde and Nayuchi on the Mozambique border. The main line runs north from Blantyre to Balaka (northwest of Zomba) and south from Limbe (just south of Blantyre) to Nsanje, in the far south of the country, although flood damage to a bridge in 1998 limits southward train travel as far as Makhanga. The main road through Malawi runs from the north down to Mzuzu, then through the centre of the country to Lilongwe, and onto Blantyre and the south. It's mostly good-quality tar, but in recent years several stretches of road have become very badly potholed, making driving difficult and sometimes dangerous. Most car hire companies are based in Lilongwe and Blantyre. You'll need an international driving permit; driving is on the left. Every week, the Ilala passenger ferry chugs up and down Lake Malawi between Monkey Bay and Chilumba, stopping at a dozen towns and villages including several on the Mozambique side of the lake. Contact Malawi Lake Services. As this boat is the only means of transport to many villages it also carries cargo so expect delays (which could stretch to many hours) if there's a lot to load or offload.
Visa:
Citizens of Commonwealth countries, the USA and most European nations (except Switzerland) receive a free, automatic 30-day tourist visa at the point of entry. Extensions (also free, and up to a maximum total stay of 90 days) are easy to arrange at the immigration offices in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
Weather
Malawi has a single wet season, from December to March, when daytime temperatures are warm and conditions humid. May to August is dry and cool. September and October can become extremely hot and humid, especially in low areas. Average daytime maximums in the lower areas are about 21 ° C (70 ° F) in July and 26 ° C (79 ° F) in January. In the higher areas, the climate is pleasant, with temperatures averaging around 20 ° C (68 ° F)between November and April, and 27 ° C (81 ° F)from May to October. Average night-time temperatures in the highlands are low, sometimes dropping below freezing on clear nights in July. On the lakeshore temperatures are higher.
Whether you want action or sloth, Malawi is the place for basking in either. The tourist brochures bill Malawi as 'the warm heart of Africa', and for once the hype is true. Malawi's scenery is gorgeous and varied and Malawians tend to be extremely friendly toward travellers. Nature lovers will adore the national parks and game reserves, mountain hiking and plateau trekking.
Destination Facts
Capital: Lilongwe
President: Bingu wa Mutharika
Government: multi-party democracy
Time zone: GMT +2
Area: 118484
Population: 11600000
Languages: Protestant (55%), Roman Catholic (20%), Muslim (20%), traditional indigenous beliefs
Currency: Kwacha (MK)
Country Dialing Code: 265
Getting There
The best time to visit Malawi overall is in the dry season, which lasts from late April to October or November. If you're coming to see wildlife, make it late in the dry season, when animals converge at water holes. But beware, the heat can be unpleasant, especially in the lowlands. The landscape is much more attractive and conditions less oppressive from May to July, but there are fewer animals about. The early dry season is the best time for birdwatching; it's also exceedingly hot, exceptionally wet or both.
Getting around
You can travel around Malawi by air, road, rail or boat. Distances between major centres are short and the roads are good. Air Malawi has a couple of flights daily between Lilongwe and Blantyre, and four flights weekly between the capital and Mzuzu. The main airport is 25km (15mi) north of Lilongwe. Taxis are the easiest way into town, and there's also an airport shuttle that will drop you at several central hotels. Most buses in Malawi are operated by a private company called Shire Bus Lines, which runs several different kinds of bus at varying levels of comfort and price. The most comfortable (and most expensive) is Coachline, a luxury line that runs non-stop between Lilongwe and Blantyre (about 5 hours), and between Lilongwe and Mzuzu (about 7 hours). The Express service is also pretty good: fast, comfortable buses between the main towns with limited stops and no standing passengers. Long-distance (local or ordinary) buses are slow and stop everywhere. The train in Malawi is slow, crowded, limited (there are no passenger trains to the capital, for instance) and not particularly useful unless you're headed between Liwonde and Nayuchi on the Mozambique border. The main line runs north from Blantyre to Balaka (northwest of Zomba) and south from Limbe (just south of Blantyre) to Nsanje, in the far south of the country, although flood damage to a bridge in 1998 limits southward train travel as far as Makhanga. The main road through Malawi runs from the north down to Mzuzu, then through the centre of the country to Lilongwe, and onto Blantyre and the south. It's mostly good-quality tar, but in recent years several stretches of road have become very badly potholed, making driving difficult and sometimes dangerous. Most car hire companies are based in Lilongwe and Blantyre. You'll need an international driving permit; driving is on the left. Every week, the Ilala passenger ferry chugs up and down Lake Malawi between Monkey Bay and Chilumba, stopping at a dozen towns and villages including several on the Mozambique side of the lake. Contact Malawi Lake Services. As this boat is the only means of transport to many villages it also carries cargo so expect delays (which could stretch to many hours) if there's a lot to load or offload.
Visa:
Citizens of Commonwealth countries, the USA and most European nations (except Switzerland) receive a free, automatic 30-day tourist visa at the point of entry. Extensions (also free, and up to a maximum total stay of 90 days) are easy to arrange at the immigration offices in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
Weather
Malawi has a single wet season, from December to March, when daytime temperatures are warm and conditions humid. May to August is dry and cool. September and October can become extremely hot and humid, especially in low areas. Average daytime maximums in the lower areas are about 21 ° C (70 ° F) in July and 26 ° C (79 ° F) in January. In the higher areas, the climate is pleasant, with temperatures averaging around 20 ° C (68 ° F)between November and April, and 27 ° C (81 ° F)from May to October. Average night-time temperatures in the highlands are low, sometimes dropping below freezing on clear nights in July. On the lakeshore temperatures are higher.
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