Lake of the stars

The dominant geographical feature, running almost the entire length of the country, is Lake Malawi (also known as Lake Nyasa), the third-largest freshwater lake in Africa.  The lake lies within a deep trough along the Great Rift Valley and has existed for around two million years.

The explorer, David Livingstone, came upon the lake in 1859 and originally named it ‘Lake Nyassa’.  He also coined the term ‘the lake of stars’, because light reflects in myriad flashes from its clear surface.  At 365 miles long (and 52 miles wide), Lake Malawi is also known as the “calendar lake”, reflecting the number of days in a year, though of course, any conversion to kilometres makes this title a little outdated.

Fed by rivers to the west, Lake Malawi has only one outlet, the Shire River (pronounced ‘shirry’) in the south.  Also to the south is Cape Maclear, a section of the lake which became the world’s first freshwater national park in 1984.  (The park includes several islands and a peninsula and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)  The water is home to hundreds of fish species, some found nowhere else in the world, such as a large number of cichlids.

‘Flocks’ of fish

If you have an exotic fish aquarium, you may have some cichlids (pronounced ‘sick-lids’).  With more than 1,300 species, these perch-like fish come in a wealth of variations and colours. In the wild, most cichlids live in large groups – known as flocks – and among the African Great Lakes, Lake Malawi has the largest flock of all, both of ‘mbuna’ (which means rock) and ‘haps’ (short for ‘Haplochromis’) species.

One of the most striking cichlids is the Labeotropheus trewavasae ‘marmalade cat’, which can be found around West Thumbi Island in Lake Malawi.

Haunting cry of the eagle

Malawi also boasts over 650 different species of birds, including a large population of fish eagles who live around the shoreline of Lake Malawi and whose haunting cries can be heard from dawn until dusk.  And though many animals were once hunted near to extinction, particularly during the colonial era, the country now protects key wildlife in nine separate game reserves.  In one of these, Liwonde, the endangered black rhino has been re-introduced.

Only 20 percent in towns & cities

Officially called The Republic of Malawi, the country has three regions – the Northern, Central and Southern – and 28 districts.  The main regional centres are Mzuzu in the north, Lilongwe (the capital) in the centre and Blantyre in the south.  Each district also has its own capital, called a BOMA.

This small African country (around half the size of the United Kingdom) is one of startling contrasts.  It is densely populated, with more than 15 million inhabitants, yet people still rely on agriculture as their main source of income – only 20 percent of Malawians live in towns and cities.  And although Malawi is landlocked (with no coastline), it is a great fishing nation – one-fifth of the country’s land is taken up by the large freshwater expanse of Lake Malawi.

Landscape of contrasts

Malawi’s landscape also holds many contrasts, from wooded hills and rolling grasslands, to low-lying wetlands and high outcrops of rock rising up from nowhere.  These are known as inselbergs (or ‘island mountains’) and Malawi’s Mulanje granite massif is one of the highest in the world.

Praise to the land

Because of the country’s natural beauty, it is no surprise that part of the Malawian National Anthem sings praise to the land:

And mother Malawi
Our own Malawi, this land so fair
Fertile and brave and free
With its lakes, refreshing mountain air
How greatly blest are we
Hills great and valleys, soil so rich and rare
Give us a bounty free
Wood and forest, plains and fair
All Beauteous Malawi.