Malawi is becoming well known for the number of activities it can offer visitors. Wildlife and game viewing in the national parks are especially attractive to those wanting to experience trekking and viewing in entirely natural surroundings without tarred roads filled with convoys of 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Malawi has nine national parks and wildlife reserves but six are especially recommended for visitors. There are also many attractive and accessible forest reserves. All the parks and reserves are uncrowded and give visitors an excellent experience of unspoilt wilderness.

Geography
Malawi shares borders to the north and northeast with Tanzania, to the south, east and southwest with Mozambique and to the west with Zambia. Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa, is the dominant feature of the country, forming the eastern boundary with Tanzania and Mozambique. The scenery varies in the country’s three regions. The Northern Region is mountainous, with the highest peaks reaching over 2500m (8200ft), and features the rolling Nyika Plateau, rugged escarpments, valleys and the thickly forested slopes of the Viphya Plateau. The Central Region is mainly a plateau, over 1000m (3300ft) high, with fine upland scenery. This is the country’s main agricultural area. The Southern Region is mostly low-lying except for the 2100m- (6890ft-) high Zomba Plateau south of Lake Malawi and the huge, isolated Mulanje Massif (3000m/10,000ft) in the southeast. The variety of landscape and the wildlife it supports make this relatively unspoilt country particularly attractive to visitors.