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Scuba Diving in Cape Maclear
A beach village at the southern tip of Lake Malawi, inside the UNESCO-listed Lake Malawi National Park, where clear freshwater over granite reefs holds hundreds of endemic cichlid fish. The country's diving, snorkelling and island-kayaking hub.
Why here
Cape Maclear is where you learn to dive inside a freshwater aquarium. This corner of Lake Malawi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1984, holds more than 850 species of cichlid fish that live nowhere else on earth, most of them small, curious and brilliantly coloured. The water is warm, clear and free of current or tide, which makes it one of the gentlest places anywhere to earn a PADI certification. Granite boulders drop away underwater into swim-throughs and walls thick with fish, and there is no salt, no surge and nothing that bites. Divers used to coral reefs come away surprised by how much life a lake can hold.
Best months
Diving runs year-round in water that sits around 24 to 27 degrees near the surface. Visibility is best in the dry season from May to October, when the lake settles and clears; the warm rains from December cut it back. There are no currents or tides, and shallow reefs make this a strong place to certify. A wetsuit is worth having for deeper or longer dives.
Getting there & around
Cape Maclear sits at the southern end of Lake Malawi, about four to five hours by road from Lilongwe or Blantyre. The village of Chembe strings along the beach, with the dive centres, lodges and backpacker camps side by side. Most divers combine a course with time on the islands or a wider Malawi trip. Bring cash, as card payment is limited.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Cape Maclear Scuba
SchoolCape Maclear Scuba has run PADI courses on Lake Malawi for over fifteen years, from Discover Scuba through to Divemaster, diving the granite reefs of Lake Malawi National Park where more than 850 cichlid species live nowhere else on earth. The centre uses Scubapro gear, and its instructors have logged dives in more than 25 countries, giving beginners flat, current-free freshwater to certify in.
Scuba Shack Diving School
SchoolScuba Shack is the diving school of HEEED, a Malawian NGO founded in 2004 with WWF Finland funding and based in Chembe village at Cape Maclear. It opened in 2013 and runs PADI courses from the eco-lodge on the shore of Lake Malawi National Park, with profits funding HEEED's health and education work. The school trains local Malawians as divemasters and instructors and dives the reefs for cichlid and bilharzia research.