Blantyre and Limbe
Blantyre - the commercial capital of Malawi - is older, and it shows. There is however a peculiar charm about this bustling city, especially at jacaranda time when many of the old roads are lined with lilac-blossomed trees with pools of petals at their feet.

The site of the city was attractive to the missionaries and traders who built it, at a higher altitude that the surrounding land and ringed by scenic mountains. Blantyre houses the headquarters of the older and bigger Malawi businesses while Lilongwe is the seat of government. Blantyre can be hot and muggy during the rainy season (November to March) with rain most days. If you travel here after a time at the lake, the shops will be an attraction.

There are hundreds of curio sellers on the streets, but their prices are higher than those in the rural districts, and they are much harder bargainers! Visit the Central Africana Gallery and Bookshop on Victoria Avenue where there is an extensive collection of Africana - including prints, books and maps.

Mount Soche Hotel © Central Africana

Places to stay include Le Meridien Mount Soche Hotel. There are also two more modestly priced hotels - Protea Ryalls and the Protea Shire Highlands. Budget accommodation is not as readily available as it is at the lake, but there are several places, including Doogle's for backpackers, Grace Bandawe Hostel, Chembe, Michiru and Namiwawa Lodges, Nyambadwe and Chichiri cottages and the Blantyre Resthouse for travellers on a tight budget. The recent trend has been to convert large suburban houses to lodges and guest houses, often quite luxurious and at modest prices. Mount Pleasant House and Tumbuka Lodge are two within walking distance of the centre. There are plenty of city centre and suburban restaurants to choose from - some of them very good indeed - with both Le Meridien Mount Soche and Ryalls boasting excellent in-house restaurants and elsewhere a variety of cultural specialities from round the world, as well as Malawian food.

Overlooking Blantyre is the Michiru Mountain Conservation Area and not to be missed are visits to the National Museum, the Wildlife and Environmental Society Shop, the Macoha Craft Shop with wonderfully woven carpets and other articles made by handicapped workers.

View From Zomba Plateau

Zomba
A small university town that used to be the seat of government. Stop on the way to the lake - it's well orth it - and try to spend at least a night at Le Meridien Ku Chawe, a fine hotel on the lip of the Zomba plateau that towers over the little town.

Thyolo
Half an hour's drive from Blantyre, Thyolo is a very pleasant, leafy little town with distinctly colonial overtones and the wonderful scenery of tea estates on rolling hillsides. The big Satemwa Guest House, beautifully sited on a privately owned tea estate, is open to visitors but make sure to book first.

The Shire Valley
If you want to see something of old Africa, visit the Shire Valley in the southernmost region of Malawi. It's real baobab country and in the rainy season the heat and the mosquitoes can deter the less adventurous, but there is plenty to see and do. The Shire River - where a very large hydroelectric dam has just been completed above Kapachira Falls - is an attraction in itself. Here are three National Parks and Wildlife Reserves - Majete, Mwabvi and Lengwe as well as the superbly photogenic Elephant Marsh.

Fishing on Elephant Marsh
© Central Africana