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Liwonde

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A fenced park along the Shire River where cheetah, lion, black rhino and wild dog have returned since 2016, two and a half hours by road from Blantyre.

Fly to Liwonde All of Malawi
Arrival
Chileka International, Blantyre · BLZ
To the park
About 2½ hours (120 km) by road from Blantyre
Private jets
Into Chileka; light aircraft to the park strips
Best time
April to October

The city

The Shire and its floodplains.

Liwonde covers about 548 square kilometres along the Shire River, a park of floodplains, lagoons and thick woodland. More than 400 bird species have been recorded. Birders come for Pel's fishing owl, Boehm's bee-eater and Lilian's lovebird; most other visitors come for the river and the animals that gather along it.

African Parks has run Liwonde with the national parks department since 2015. It fenced the whole 244 km boundary and brought back cheetah, lion, black rhino and wild dog between 2016 and 2022. Elephants did so well that over 600 have gone to restock other reserves, and in 2018 the neighbouring Mangochi Forest Reserve, 358 square kilometres of it, came under the same management.

  • The Shire by boat Boat trips along the river and its floodplain, which the park counts among the best water-borne game viewing in southern Africa.
  • The returned predators Cheetah, lion and wild dog, brought back between 2016 and 2022, together with black rhino.
  • Pel's fishing owl The prize among more than 400 bird species, along with Livingstone's flycatcher and Lilian's lovebird.

Arriving

Blantyre, then north by road or air.

Chileka International, 13 km north-west of Blantyre, is about 84 km from Liwonde as the crow flies and 120 km by road. In the rains a four-wheel drive is advised, and some park roads close.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Ethiopian Airlines flies to Chileka from Addis Ababa, and Malawi Airlines from Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe. Inside the park, Ulendo Airlink uses the Mvuu strip, half an hour from the lakeshore at Club Makokola. Business & First fares Private Jet Private jets Business jets land at Chileka on a 2,325-metre asphalt runway, with customs and jet fuel on site. The airport works from about 07:30 to 17:00 local time and opens later on request. Kuthengo Camp has its own strip, Makanga, for a light aircraft on from Blantyre. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Johannesburg 2 h 15
  • Nairobi 2 h 20
  • Lagos 5 h 50
  • Delhi 8 h 50 long-range jet
  • Geneva 9 h 50 long-range jet

When to go

April to October.

April to October is the dry season, when the bush thins out and animals are easier to find. June and July are mild, around 22 to 23 °C in the afternoon; by October it is 29 °C. The rains start in November and are heaviest from December to February, at about 250 mm a month.

  1. 27° J 266
  2. 27° F 241
  3. 27° M 194
  4. 26° A 64
  5. 25° M 18
  6. 23° J 9
  7. 22° J 6
  8. 25° A 4
  9. 28° S 7
  10. 29° O 25
  11. 29° N 108
  12. 27° D 248
Best months weather2travel.com, long-term averages for Zomba

Where to stay

A camp on the Shire plain.

Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.

Elsewhere in Malawi

More reasons to come.

All of Malawi

Flying to Liwonde?

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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.

Business & First Private Jet