If you are on a trek across Eastern Africa or are volunteering in the vicinity of Malawi, backpacking through Lilongwe and into the lakeshore mountains of Nkhata Bay is an inexpensive way to experience Malawi culture and its people.
Lilongwe
In 1975, Lilongwe (pop. 817,300) replaced Zomba as Malawi’s capital city. There are two sections to Lilongwe. The less aesthetically interesting, albeit cleaner of the two, the New Town, is distinguished by new development comprised of government and corporate offices. The Parliament building is central to the spatial configuration of the New Town. So, foreign workers in Malawi needing to register with their embassy or travelers wanting to enquire about extending their visa will want to pay a visit to this newer section of Lilongwe.
The Old Town, which grew around the Lilongwe River, boasts many retail businesses, both foreign and domestic, and traditional African markets. Malawi is known, perhaps most famously, for the talented woodcarvers and jewelry makers, whose craftsmanship are showcased daily at the crafts market located in the parking lot in front of the national post office. Another market, situated alongside the Lilongwe River, is also worth a browse because they sell anything from affordable, used clothing to personal hygiene items, stationery, and snacks. Shoestring backpackers might want to walk through this market for last minute essentials needed for the rest of their journey.
Lilongwe also has a sizable Muslim community. If you are interested at all in the architectural beauty of mosques, Lilongwe has a few on which to feast your eyes.
The Old Town is within walking distance of banks, hostels, and restaurants, including the bus station, where travelers can get buses arriving from and departing to anywhere around Malawi and surrounding countries. The bus station’s convenient location at the edge of the Old Town, just before the bridge crossing over Lilongwe River, enables incoming and outgoing travelers to easily walk to places to eat, to sleep, to exchange currencies, and to mail correspondences. Public transportation, therefore, can be quite convenient for budget travelers.
Nkhata Bay
Located just over 250 kilometers north of Lilongwe is Nkhata (pronounced “en-kata”) Bay, a beautiful place to respite after being submerged in the hectic energy of the city. Lake Malawi is Nkhata Bay’s main attraction and is thus the reason many backpackers come to Nkhata Bay. Better known to locals as a fishing village, the center of Nkhata Bay is nothing more than a fishing port, where the locals sell the day’s catch. Incredibly self-contained, the village market sells everything one can possibly need to live here. A walk through the market is worth doing because it provides travelers an opportunity to converse with locals. It takes less than an hour.
Other than the eclectic, port atmosphere of the village, there is nothing else to see here. Sightseeing, however, is not the main activity; travelers come to snorkel, experience bata fishing, earn their diving certificate, hike to nearby plantations, essentially to learn more about the area’s beautiful landscape. Above all, Nkhata Bay is where one can simply relax; there is no pressure to do anything here other than to laze about, wade in the refreshing waters of Lake Malawi or to kayak at one’s leisure.
Budget Places to Stay
Because Malawi is increasingly being marketed as an ecotourism destination, there is no shortage of backpackers and green lodges around the country. Many are affordable and easy on the shoestring budget. I stayed at the Mabuya Backpackers on Livingstone Road, formerly known as Kiboko Safari Lodge.
Getting to Mabuya is easy from Old Town, but the walking time takes a good 40 minutes from virtually anywhere in the Old Town. If you find a bike cabbie peddling about looking for passengers, hail one down. They charge MK150 a ride up to Mabuya Backpackers. But, once you arrive, boy! In a quiet section of Lilongwe, I was tempted to skip my onward journey and simply stay there. The 7-bed dorms (MK1,300 per night) can get noisy in the evening because of the partying of other travelers, but one also has the option of staying in the 4-bed dorms (MK1,500), which are a few yards from the main house, away from the rabble rousers, or of renting a tent (MK500). There is a breezy restaurant, where various kinds of foods are served, including fresh garden salads, yogurt and muesli, local menu of nsima, or the usual fish and chips, so travelers do not have to leave the grounds to eat. Just tell the cooks what you want and they’ll prepare it.
While in Nkhata Bay, I opted for the more rustic Big Blue Star backpackers, which is a mere five minute uphill walk from the village bus stop. Dorm beds cost only MK700 and MK900 per night, depending on the size of the dorm, but there is also the option of sleeping in a single (MK1,500) or double (MK2,500) cabin, where one can start every morning with an undisturbed view of Lake Malawi (or Lake Nyasa, the local name for Africa’s second deepest lake).
From my bunk bed, I was lulled to sleep each night listening to the gentle waves lapping against the lakeshore. I ate meals on the veranda of the television room with the lake breeze playfully calling to me from the refuge of the tree canopy and from across the expansive water. If I gazed down into the lake water from the height of the bar patio, I can clearly see the rocks submerged beneath the surface of the lake.
The drawback to Big Blue Star backpackers are the artisans, who managed to skillfully make a sale from me. I was beckoned daily to peruse their crafts, but was an invitation that always segued into a sales pitch. Travelers wanting to be protected from such hawkers might want to bed down at Mayoka Village Lodge or Butterfly Space backpackers. Both accommodations are also built along the cliffs of the lakeshore, but are further away (20 to 30 minutes on foot) from the village center in a more secluded section.
Getting There by Public Transportation
The least expensive, but definitely not the most comfortable, method of getting to Lilongwe and Nkhata Bay is by public transportation. All buses converge in Lilongwe, where travelers can transfer to buses heading for various destinations. Getting to Lilongwe from Chipata takes three transfers. On the day I departed, a kind friend gave me a ride, but the distance to the Malawi border usually costs ZK15,000 per head by taxi. After crossing customs, a shared taxi (MK300) can be hailed to Mchinji, the nearest border town, before transferring to a mini-bus (MK800) across from Joe’s Motel that heads to Lilongwe.
Because the only direct bus to Nkhata Bay is scheduled to leave every morning at 8am, an overnight in Lilongwe is necessary. This particular route is called Lakeshore, but the name is a misnomer because it implies that passengers get frequent views of the lake, but in reality are treated to only ten minutes - and not until after the bus passes Nkhotakota. Moreover, while the company operating this route, AXA Bus Company, advertises itself as being punctual, be prepared to wait, as the bus operates on Africa time. Return buses to Lilongwe are scheduled to depart Nkhata Bay at 6 a.m., daily. The one way bus fare costs MK1300.
I am quickly learning that traveling long distances overland in Africa causes some discomfort, as the buses are usually extremely crowded and the routes made longer by frequent stops. But, the sights along the way of goats and chickens grousing about and roadside peddlers selling all kinds of food and other things, all unique to Africa, are interesting enough to break up the monotony of fields of drying grasses and mud houses topped with thatched roofs. I even experienced my first road side braii, a Malawi man sautéeing goat meat in hot oil filling a barbecue bowl. The etiquette of sampling barbecue in this manner consists of paying the vendor MK40 for two slices of goat meat, jabbing a toothpick into the delicate flesh, and dipping it to taste in the miniscule salt pile, carefully placed on the side specifically for that purpose. How can one not fall in love with Africa?
Source
- Malawi Government. "Welcome to the City of Lilongwe", 2008.
- National Statistical Office of Malawi. "Malawi Demographic and Health Preliminary Report",
