Malawi Parks and Plateaus

Dzalanyama Forest

This Reserve is approximately 40 km south-west of Lilongwe in a range of hills which bear the same name. The forest is a great place for exploring, trekking, and mountain biking. The birdlife is very good, including a couple of rare species, the olive-headed weaver and Stierling’s woodpecker. The variety of flora is interesting and includes some wonderful ferns. It is possible to stay in the reserve at the Dzalanyama Forest Lodge, now under private management. There are natural pools and streams for a quick, cooling dip.

Ntchisi Forest Reserve

Ntchisi Forest Reserve covers approximately 75 sqkm and is surrounded on all sides by rolling hills covered by subsistence farming and dotted with traditional villages. It is an untouched paradise, entirely undiscovered by mass tourism. Because the forest proved so vital as a shelter for people, it largely escaped the deforestation for firewood that has unfortunately decimated so much of Africa’s indigenous woodlands. It later became a designated Forest Reserve. Bird life is prolific and this is an excellent destination for the professional or amateur bird watcher due to the variety of habitats. Some mammals, butterflies, and strange and unknown plants and orchids are also plentiful. The Forest Reserve contains some of the last remaining indigenous rainforest in Malawi. Some trees tower thirty meters overhead while lianas and strangler figs compete for the sunlight.The lush vegetation is home to a plethora of orchids, as well as an abundant bird life, troops of samango monkey, baboons, hyenas and the odd bushbuck and bush pig. It is excellent hiking and mountain biking territory and is home to a variety of bird species and a stunning display of wildflowers each year when the rains start.

Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve