Liwonde National Park
Expert Reviews (7)
Malawi Parks
Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.
2 people found this review helpful.
Malawi’s Flagship Conservation Area
The reserve, named after Chief Liwonde who championed the area’s protection, was proclaimed a national park in 1973 to protect the extraordinary biodiversity and conservation potential of this attractive area. But decades of mismanagement, poaching and human encroachment followed before the Malawian government finally acknowledged the deteriorating condition of the park and sought assistance to rectify the unsustainable situation.
With assistance from numerous non-profit and non-governmental organisations a 47km2 fenced sanctuary was created inside the national park, enabling the reintroduction of black rhino. Further successful relocations of buffalo, eland, roan antelope, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest and plains zebra made Liwonde a crucial reservoir of rare species in Malawi. These positive conservation developments and successful reintroductions culminated in the acclaimed African Parks non-profit taking over the long-term management of the park in 2015. Further successful reintroductions of cheetah, lion and wild dog followed.
Dominated by the spectacular Shire River, the country’s largest perennial waterway, Liwonde is a highly prized safari destination. The river is home to thriving populations of hippo and crocodile, as well as being a birdwatcher’s paradise (over 400 species have been recorded in the national park). The Shire floodplains – fringed by palm savannah, baobabs and thick riverine vegetation – are a magnet for healthy numbers of elephant and waterbuck that thrive in this well-watered environment. Wildlife-watching boat cruises add another exciting element to the Liwonde safari experience.
James is a travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guides, including senior author of the guide to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
2 people found this review helpful.
Riverside Birdlife and Conservation Stories
Now home to the full Big Five complement, this African Parks-run reserve is one of Malawi’s best safari destinations, with the country’s largest population of elephant (more than 500) and endangered black rhino. Thanks to the Shire River meandering through the fertile floodplains dotted with baobabs and towering Borassus palms, Liwonde is one of Africa’s best places for river-based wildlife watching, and the lodges offer boat trips into the watery realm of hippos and crocs. The park’s bird life is exceptional – its riverbanks, woodlands and lagoons support over 400 species, including rare lappet-faced and white-backed vultures, Pel’s fishing owls, Böhm’s bee-eaters, Lillian’s lovebirds and Livingstone’s flycatchers. A further reason to visit is the recent reintroduction of cheetah, lion and African wild dog, which has returned these carnivores to Liwonde after a long absence.
Dale is a multi-award-winning writer and photographer with more than 500 published magazine articles featured in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa, and CNN Travel.
2 people found this review helpful.
A Phoenix Risen
If you had visited Liwonde National Park in the 1980s or early ’90s, chances are you would not have seen many animals there. Poaching, habitat destruction, and land invasions had made the place a virtual biodiversity wasteland. But that isn’t the case today.
African Parks Network (a conservation NGO) partnered up with the Malawian conservation authorities, assisted with the funding and training of park staff, incentivized the neighboring communities to stop the destruction, developed tourism, and reintroduced hundreds upon hundreds of animals (including elephants).
Now, whenever I visit, I often find myself in awe of what an amazing job has been done to restore the park back into a truly wild and self-sustaining ecosystem.
Liwonde is a fantastic conservation success story.
Boat rides along the Shire River are perhaps my favorite activity, and I always come away with great memories of encounters with wallowing elephants, giant crocodiles, and big pods of hippos.
On game drives, I have seen lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas, as well as the usual game species, such as giraffes and various antelopes.
Recently, a contingent of black rhinos was reintroduced from South Africa, making Liwonde a big five destination.
Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.
3 people found this review helpful.
Birder’s Paradise
Liwonde feels the most “African” of Malawi’s national parks with its beautiful setting along the Shire River, grunting hippos and easy to see herds of elephants. With its variety of habitats, including Borassus palm-studded floodplains, mopane woodlands and lagoons, Liwonde is a birder’s paradise. Specialities include brown-breasted barbet, Böhm’s bee-eater, Lillian’s lovebird and Livingstone’s flycatcher – and we managed to see both the Pel’s fishing owl and African skimmer on the same boat trip.
Liwonde faces big conservation challenges, as it is a relatively small park surrounded by huge numbers of impoverished people. Thankfully, the park has made incredible progress since the inspirational African Parks took over management in 2015. The positive impact has included training rangers, preventing illegal fishing, removing snares, fencing the entire park and helping empower local communities. African Parks has also overseen the reintroduction of plenty of wildlife, including lion, black rhino, cheetah and African wild dog. I have high hopes for the future of this beautiful national park.
Sue is an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation. She writes for national newspapers, magazines, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet.
3 people found this review helpful.
Loving Liwonde!
I was in Liwonde for the first day of conservation NGO African Parks’ historic elephant relocations, when they started a huge operation to move 500 pachyderms to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. It was my job to look after a darted elephant by monitoring her breathing while she was under sedation, and it was the most emotional wildlife experience I’ve had the privilege to be part of. For this reason, Liwonde will always be special to me – but even without that, the park would still be one of my favorites. Liwonde has so much character, with dappled miombo woodlands, fever-tree forests, baobab and palm trees, and huge candelabra euphorbia scattered all around, while the Shire River cuts a swath through golden floodplains. And the wildlife is superb – with the recent relocation of lions, it’s now a Big Five destination. Boat safaris are a must – the river is teeming with hippos, the rich birdlife includes African skimmers that seem to dance in formation over the water, and the sunsets are just unbelievable.
Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.
3 people found this review helpful.
Life and Death at the Mighty Shire River
The focal point of Liwonde is the Shire River, which is just one of Africa’s magic waterways. Lined with borassus palms and floodplains, the river is a magnet for wildlife and elephants can often be seen drinking or even crossing. Of all the activities, I like the boat trips the most. A good captain knows exactly when to cut the engine so that the current of the river takes the boat exactly where you want it to be – like 50cm from the open mouth of a huge crocodile or next to a little branch supporting a row of cuddled up bee-eaters sleeping at night. This is one of the few places in Africa where there is a good chance of seeing the elusive Pell’s fishing owl and I’ve been lucky to see one sleeping in a tree on the early-morning bush walk. The park is also now home to all the Big Five, but it is still the river that dominates the Liwonde experience.
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
7 people found this review helpful.
Archetypal African River Setting
Liwonde ranks among my very favourite national parks anywhere in Africa. Its most compelling feature is the Shire River, a stunning palm-lined tropical waterway that evokes every romantic notion of untrammelled Africa, especially at night when the air resonates with the chirruping of frogs. The stretch of river running through the park is home to some 2,000 hippos, and you seldom spend long on it without encountering some of the park’s elephants drinking or waiting in the shallows.
Liwonde has always been a special reserve, and it has seen massive developments and improvements since being taken over by the NGO African Parks in 2015. This includes the reintroduction of lion, cheetah, Africa wild dog and black rhino, as well as the fencing off of the entire park to minimize human-wildlife conflict. On my most recent visit, in May 2024, I was lucky enough to see lions on a daily basis, and also had a great cheetah sighting, while other guests were fortunate to sit for several minutes with a black rhino. Other highlights included a pair of bushpigs feeding on the riverbank and sable antelope in the thick mopane woodland away from the river. Impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, vervet monkey and yellow baboon are all common.
Liwonde is a superb park for birding, with more than 400 species recorded. Aquatic birds are prolific and include African fish eagle, saddle-billed stork, Pel’s fishing owl, palm-nut vulture, rufous-bellied heron and white-backed night heron. Localised woodland species I’ve seen on pretty much every visit include brown-breasted barbet, Böhm’s bee-eater, Lilian’s lovebird, Livingstone’s flycatcher and collared palm-thrush. A key attraction of this reserve is the varied range of activities, which include sensational boat trips and guided walks, as well as night and daytime game drives. An all-round gem.
Safari Tours to Liwonde NP
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![12-Day Ultimate Malawi Safari & Beach Escape]()
12-Day Ultimate Malawi Safari & Beach Escape
$6,205 to $8,202 pp (USD)
Malawi: Private tourLuxuryLodge & Tented Camp
You Visit: Blantyre (Start), Majete WR, Liwonde NP, Lake Malawi, Cape Maclear (Lake Malawi), Lilongwe (End)
Wayfairer Travel
4.8/5 – 172 Reviews
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![5-Day From Wilderness to Waterfront Malawi Adventure]()
5-Day From Wilderness to Waterfront Malawi Adventure
$2,805 pp (USD)
Malawi: Private tourLuxuryLodge & Resort
You Visit: Lilongwe (Start), Liwonde NP, Lake Malawi, Blantyre (City), Chileka Airport (End)
Baseline Travel
5.0/5 – 1 Reviews
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![11-Day Best of Malawi Birding]()
11-Day Best of Malawi Birding
$5,061 to $5,542 pp (USD)
Malawi: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Guest HouseYou Visit: Blantyre (Start), Thyolo District, Zomba Plateau, Liwonde NP, Cape Maclear (Lake Malawi), Dzalanyama FR, Lilongwe (End)
Land & Lake Safaris
4.8/5 – 30 Reviews
