Malawi Tourist Attractions and Sightseeing

(Malawi, MW, South-East Africa)

Most visitors to Malawi are drawn to its natural attractions, including the undoubted star of the show, Lake Malawi. However, this beautiful country also has a number of tourist attractions that are well worth paying a visit.

These range from reminders of Malawi's colonial past, including a 19th-century mission station and several notable parks, to the tobacco auctions held regularly within the capital city of Lilongwe. The Thyolo Tea Estates are another popular attraction and this area is also a particularly good place for walking and bird watching.

Livingstonia Mission

Address: Livingstonia, Malawi, MW, Africa
Set some 3,000 metres / 9,842 feet above Nyika Lake in northern Malawi is the mission at Livingstonia. Remotely located, even today, the mission was originally established by Scottish missionaries, most famously Dr. Robert Laws, at the end of the 19th century. Named after the famous African explorer, David Livingstone, the mission station gradually grew up to become a town, complete with a post office, small shops and some pleasant attractions. Its buildings are characteristically red in colour and the Scottish-inspired architecture of the church can't help but instill a real sense of the history of the place. Of particular interest is the Old Stone House, the home of founder Dr. Laws and today a guest house and small museum.
Open hours: daily
Admission: charge

Thyolo Tea Estates

Address: Thyolo, Malawi, MW, Africa
Tea has been cultivated and harvested at Thyolo in the south of Malawi since the early 1900s. Amidst the verdant rolling hills, neatly tended rows of tea bushes make for quite a sight. Visitors can arrange to tour one of the many tea estates in the area to watch the estate workers as they pluck leaves from the bushes, as well as enjoy tea tastings and take a look inside a local tea factory.
Open hours: daily
Admission: charge

Tobacco Auction

Address: Kenango Industrial Area, Lilongwe, Malawi, MW, Africa
Tel: +265 01 710 377
Visitors in search of an unusual day out can opt to make the short journey to Lilongwe's Tobacco Auction, located north of the city centre. Tobacco is one of Malawi's most important export crops. Grown on large plantations and small farms, it is then harvested and brought to Lilongwe's auction room, which serves as an attraction in its own right. From a public gallery in a vast hangar-like warehouse, it's possible to view the sale of hundreds of bales of tobacco and soak up the lively atmosphere as buyers seek to outbid the competition.
Open hours: daily (May to September only)
Admission: free

Lilongwe Nature Reserve and Zoo

Address: Lilongwe, Malawi, MW, Africa
Lilongwe Nature Reserve's city centre location makes this an ideal place for families to while away a few hours. Several trails run through this sanctuary and there is also a modestly sized zoo with various animal attractions, such as hyenas, bushbuck, porcupines and crocodiles. The reserve is home to in excess of 150 bird species, as well as some rather exotic and rare wildflowers.
Open hours: daily
Admission: charge