General Information
This section contains extracts from the MCM Handbook, which is available to members. Although the focus is on Mulanje, much of the information and advice can be applied to the other mountain areas of Malawi.Mulanje itself is a matchless area for walking, hiking and climbing. It supports a spectacular collection of flora and fauna and provides some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. David Livingstone records seeing the mountain from Lake Chilwa in 1859, but it was left to later Europeans to explore the area in the late 1800s. By the 1920s, there were regular visitors to the ‘hill station’ of cottages on the Lichenya plateau, glad to escape the heat of the plains below.
Since then, thousands of visitors have enjoyed Mulanje, the great majority of them happily and safely. You can do the same by following a few simple rules, but remember that this is a high, remote area, with tough terrain and rapidly changing weather, especially during the early months of the dry season, from May to July, when thick, wet mists can reduce visibility to zero.
The Mulanje Massif garlanded in clouds, seen from the green tea estates around Lujeri.