All activities / Wildlife Safaris / Liwonde National Park
Wildlife Safaris in Liwonde National Park
A riverine national park along the Shire in southern Malawi, managed by African Parks since 2015, with the country's densest elephant population and reintroduced black rhino, cheetah and lions. Game viewed from boat, vehicle and on foot.
Why here
Liwonde is Malawi's wildlife comeback in one park. Strung along the Shire River, it holds the country's densest elephant population, hippo and crocodile in the hundreds, and, since African Parks took over in 2015, black rhino, cheetah and lions all brought back to ground that poaching had emptied. The river is the heart of it: you track game from a boat, drifting past elephant drinking at the bank with fish eagles overhead, then switch to a vehicle or walk. Birdlife runs over 400 species, from Pel's fishing owl to the palmnut vulture. For a small park it delivers a remarkable, and remarkably close, concentration of animals.
Best months
The dry season from May to October concentrates wildlife on the river as inland waterholes dry out, making it the prime game-viewing window. It is cooler and lighter on mosquitoes too. The green season from December brings migrant birds and newborn animals but thicker bush and some rain. Boat safaris on the Shire run year-round when the river is high enough.
Getting there & around
Liwonde is about three hours by road from Blantyre or five from Lilongwe, with light-aircraft airstrips for those flying in. Camps arrange road or boat transfers to the lodges on the Shire. Game activities are guided from the camps, on the river, by vehicle or on foot. Malaria prophylaxis is advised. Most visitors pair Liwonde with Lake Malawi or Majete.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Kuthengo Camp
OutfitterKuthengo Camp is a five-tent safari camp run by Robin Pope Safaris on an open plain that runs down to the Shire River in Liwonde National Park. Each en-suite tent has a private deck facing the water, and game drives reach the elephant herds, buffalo and the black rhino, cheetah and lions that African Parks has reintroduced since taking over the park. Birding is a draw too, with over 400 species recorded, among them Pel's fishing owl and the palmnut vulture.
Mvuu Lodge
OutfitterMvuu Lodge sits where the Namagogodo Lagoon meets the Shire River in Liwonde National Park, run by Central African Wilderness Safaris, the Malawian operator established in 1987. It pairs three suites with plunge pools and five tented chalets, and its game runs cover the elephant, hippo and crocodile of the Shire plus the black rhino that African Parks reintroduced from 2019. Boat safaris on the river are the signature, alongside walking safaris and night drives.