Hotels in Malawi

Malawi is dominated by its lake, a body of freshwater 580 kilometres long that fills a fifth of the country and holds more fish species than any other lake on earth. Clear water, sandy bays and hundreds of brightly coloured cichlids make it a genuinely unusual snorkelling destination, and the string of lodges from Cape Maclear to Nkhata Bay have made it a fixture on the overland route through southern Africa.

The safari story has changed dramatically. A decade of large-scale wildlife translocations has restocked parks that were once empty, and Liwonde and Majete now both hold the Big Five, with Liwonde's elephants and hippos along the Shire River the highlight. Nkhotakota and the high grasslands of the Nyika Plateau offer wilder, emptier alternatives at a fraction of the price of the better-known safari countries.

Nicknamed the Warm Heart of Africa, Malawi is small enough to cross in a day or two and combines lake time with safari and highland hiking on Mount Mulanje and the Zomba Plateau. It sits naturally alongside Zambia and Tanzania on a longer trip.