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Walking Safaris in Malawi

Malawi's restored parks now hold elephant, buffalo and lion again, and several camps walk in them. Walking here is an option alongside boats and drives rather than the core of the stay.

By the WalkingSafaris.com editors · October 2026 · 6 min read · Editorial standards

A hippo yawning in the riverPhoto: The Bushcamp Company

Walking parks in Malawi

Select a park on the map.

Walking-led camps (larger dot, more camps)Walks offered onlyDrag to move · + and − to zoomRelief: NASA Earth Observatory · Rivers: Natural Earth

Why Malawi is different

Malawi's walking country is the product of restoration. African Parks has managed Majete since 2003, and Liwonde and Nkhotakota since 2015 [1][2][3]. Elephant, buffalo, lion and other species were moved in, and Liwonde and Majete were fenced [1][2][3].

Fencing matters to how we classify camps, but it does not exclude them. Our test is whether elephant, buffalo and lion are present where guests walk. Liwonde holds all three [1]. So does Majete, where all of the larger game species are now present [2]. See How We Classify Walking Safaris for the full method.

Liwonde National Park

Liwonde covers about 548 km² along a 30 km stretch of the Shire River [1]. A 2020 aerial survey counted about 600 elephants and 1,300 buffalo, and nine lions were reintroduced in early 2018 [1]. Cheetah were brought back in 2017 [1]. The park's 129 km perimeter is now fully fenced [1].

Walks here move through mopane and miombo woodland and across the river floodplain [10][13]. One writer, on a dry-season walk from Mvuu, met a breeding herd of elephant at about 30 meters, a herd of buffalo in the open, and two lions resting near the Shire [10]. The walk was "led by an experienced guide and an armed ranger/tracker" [10]. That trip ended at a fly camp under fever trees after about four hours on foot [10]. Under our counting rules, a fly camp like this counts with its base camp.

Four commercial camps offer walks in Liwonde:

  • Mvuu Lodge. A lagoon-side lodge of eight tents run by Central African Wilderness Safaris [11]. Walks go out with an armed guide or ranger; walkers must be 12 or older [5][11].
  • Mvuu Camp. The sister camp, with about 13 simple tented rooms, run by the same company, with walks alongside boat trips and drives [11][12].
  • Kuthengo Camp. A small tented camp run by Robin Pope Safaris [4][7]. Walks go out with guides and "an armed National Park scout" [4]. Walkers must be 12 or older [7].
  • Chimwala Bush Camp. A tented camp below Chinguni Hill, overlooking the Shire, in the African Parks collection. Guided walks are listed with drives and boating [13].

At each of these camps, walks are one activity among boating and game drives. No camp publishes a daily walking schedule. They sit in our Walks Offered format until that evidence is in.

Majete Wildlife Reserve

Majete covers about 700 km² on the Shire River [2]. African Parks began managing it in 2003 with Malawi's national parks department [2]. Elephant returned from 2006, and lion in 2012 [2]. A 142 km fence surrounds the reserve [2]. Armed trackers follow its black rhino daily [14].

Two camps offer walks:

  • Mkulumadzi. A lodge of eight chalets on the Shire River, owned and run by Robin Pope Safaris [2][15]. Its rates include two activities a day, game drives or walking safaris [16]. Guests choose between them [16]. That is close to our Walking Camp format. But we have not found how walks are escorted or how long they last, so for now it sits under Walks Offered.
  • Thawale Lodge. A tented lodge in the African Parks collection, with eight tented suites and two family chalets [17]. Guided walks are listed with drives and birding [17]. An African Parks information sheet from 2020 gives 12 as the minimum age for its bird walks [18].

Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve

Nkhotakota covers about 1,800 km² of rugged country with miombo woodland, rivers and patches of rainforest [3][21]. Between 2016 and 2017, African Parks moved more than 500 elephants and over 100 buffalo there from Liwonde and Majete [3]. One specialist describes game as including buffalo, elephant, hippo and "the occasional lion and leopard," and calls it "fairly skittish" [6].

  • Tongole Wilderness Lodge. A small lodge of four cottages plus a family cottage, open April to January [6]. Walks go out "with an expert guide and armed scout," and an armed scout is based in camp [6]. It is also marketed as Tongole Wilderness Retreat, which lists fly-camping [19].

Nyika and Vwaza

Nyika National Park is a high, malaria-free plateau of about 3,134 km² [8][20]. Elephant are often seen, and lion have been recorded recently, but buffalo are rare or probably gone [20]. Guided walks from Chelinda focus on wildflowers, birds and scenery [21]. It is a fine place to walk, but it does not meet our dangerous-game test, so its camps are not in our directory.

Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve covers about 986 km² and draws herds of elephant and buffalo [22]. Guided walks are possible, but one specialist reports that the only safari camp closed at the end of 2007 [22]. We list no Vwaza camp.

Rules and guiding

We found no published national rule for walking in Malawi's parks. What the camps document is consistent: at every camp that describes how its walks are run, an armed scout, ranger or guide goes along [4][5][6][10]. At Kuthengo, the armed escort is a national park scout [4].

Minimum ages are set by each camp. Mvuu Lodge and Kuthengo set 12 [5][7]. Ask before you book, and ask how many walkers go out together. No Malawi camp we found publishes a group cap.

When to go

Walking in Malawi follows the dry season. One specialist describes June as ideal for walking, July and August as having "no limits on walking safaris," and October as "very challenging" because of the heat [6][7]. In February, at the height of the rains, walking is limited [6][8]. Kuthengo is open from late April to the end of December, and Tongole from April to January [6][7].

Pairing Malawi with South Luangwa

Malawi and South Luangwa sit close together on the map. The road link runs from Lilongwe west to the Mchinji border post, then on through Zambia's Mwami border to Chipata. Mwami is about 145 km by road from Lilongwe and about 22 km from Chipata [23]. In all, South Luangwa is about 321 km from Lilongwe, roughly five and a half hours by road, and the border can add time [9].

That makes a natural combination. Start or finish in Liwonde or Majete for boating on the Shire and a walk or two. Then cross to South Luangwa, where about half the commercial camps make walking a daily core activity. Our South Luangwa Walking Safari Guide sets out the camps by format.

The practical reading: Malawi is a good place to add walks to a varied safari, with the Shire River at its center. If daily walking is the reason for the trip, plan the bulk of your nights in South Luangwa.

Related reading: The Birthplace of the Walking Safari – South Luangwa Walking Safari Guide · Kafue Walking Safari Guide · Who Leads Your Walk? Guide Licensing and Armed Escorts by Country · How We Classify Walking Safaris

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Liwonde National Park — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liwonde_National_Park
  2. Wikipedia, Majete Wildlife Reserve — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majete_Wildlife_Reserve
  3. Wikipedia, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nkhotakota_Wildlife_Reserve
  4. Tribes Travel, Classic Malawi itinerary — https://www.tribes.co.uk/holidays/classic-malawi/itinerary
  5. Expert Africa, Mvuu Lodge — https://expertafrica.com/malawi/liwonde-national-park/mvuu-wilderness-lodge/in-detail
  6. Expert Africa, Tongole Wilderness Lodge — https://expertafrica.com/malawi/nkhotakota-wildlife-reserve/tongole-wilderness-lodge/in-detail
  7. Expert Africa, Kuthengo Camp — https://expertafrica.com/malawi/liwonde-national-park/kuthengo-camp/in-detail
  8. Expert Africa, Chelinda Lodge — https://www.expertafrica.com/malawi/nyika-plateau/chelinda-lodge/in-detail
  9. South Luangwa Safaris, Getting to South Luangwa — https://www.southluangwasafaris.com/south-luangwa/directions-south-luangwa/
  10. Tracks4Africa, What to expect from a Malawi walking safari (Nov 11, 2025) — https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/what-to-expect-from-a-malawi-walking-safari/
  11. Timbuktu Travel, Mvuu Lodge — https://timbuktutravel.com/lodge/mvuu-lodge
  12. ATR Safari, Mvuu Camp — https://atrsafari.com/safari-lodges/malawi/liwonde/central-african-wilderness-mvuu-camp/
  13. Chalo Africa, Chimwala Bush Camp — https://www.chaloafrica.com/accommodation/chimwala-bush-camp-liwonde-national-park-malawi/
  14. Daily Maverick, Majete: one of the finest parks in Africa for game viewing (Aug 28, 2023) — https://develop.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-08-28-majete-one-of-the-finest-parks-in-africa-for-game-viewing
  15. Tribes Travel, Mkulumadzi Lodge — https://www.tribes.co.uk/accommodation/mkulumadzi-lodge/
  16. Chalo Africa, Mkulumadzi Lodge — https://www.chaloafrica.com/accommodation/mkulumadzi-lodge-majete-malawi/
  17. Chalo Africa, Thawale Lodge — https://www.chaloafrica.com/accommodation/thawale-lodge-majete-wildlife-reserve-malawi/
  18. African Parks, Thawale Camp information — https://www.africanparks.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resources/2020-07/Thawale%20Camp%20-%20Info.pdf
  19. Sun Safaris, Tongole Wilderness Retreat — https://sunsafaris.com/safari/malawi/nkhotakota-wildlife-reserve/tongole-wilderness-retreat.html
  20. Wikipedia, Nyika National Park — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyika_National_Park
  21. Expert Africa, Walking in Malawi — https://www.expertafrica.com/walking/malawi
  22. Expert Africa, Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve — https://www.expertafrica.com/malawi/vwaza-marsh-game-reserve/in-detail
  23. Wikipedia, Mwami, Zambia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mwami,_Zambia

Spotted an error? Tell us. How we classify camps: our methodology.