Off the Beaten Track: An Adventurer’s Guide to Malawi’s Viphya Mountains

The Viphya Mountains in northern Malawi are a beautiful and lesser-known highland wilderness

This remote and little-visited region is the perfect destination for safari-goers, adventure travellers, birders, and conscious travellers.

Are you planning an overland African adventure? Here’s why you should include Malawi’s Viphya Mountains in your itinerary …

Reasons to visit the Viphya Mountains

There are a few compelling reasons to consider travelling to the Viphya Mountains …

1. Uncrowded safaris in a beautiful and different setting

The Viphya Mountains have pristine, uncrowded game parks where you can find large and exciting wildlife ranging from large species like elephants, leopards, and elands to smaller ones like wild cats, duikers, and warthogs.

It’s also a treat to search for game against the backdrop of rolling hills, misty valleys, escarpment walls, and mountain peaks rather than the flat savannahs that are typical of so many African safari destinations.

2. Outdoor adventure activities

The Viphya Mountains offer the rugged terrain necessary for many thrilling outdoor activities. Visitors can choose from horseback and walking safaris, trekking and hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and abseiling, and more.

3. Birds galore

What’s more, the Viphya Mountains are also a fantastic destination for nature travellers, as it’s a birding haven.

To date, birders have identified hundreds of species across the various habitats of the Viphya Mountains, which include plateau grasslands, indigenous woodlands, miombo forest, wetlands, escarpment, and even rainforest patches. Some of the birds you can hope to find are Stanley’s bustards, Augur buzzards, Sharpe’s akalats, red-faced crimson-wings, and olive woodpeckers.

4. Wildflowers and orchids hotspot

The plateau’s grasslands are bedecked with wildflowers in season, offering nature lovers inspiring vistas. In the rainy season, hundreds of wild orchids pop up everywhere, especially in the northern mountains. More than 30 of these orchids are endemics, but more on that in a moment.

5. An undersubscribed tourism destination

The Viphya Mountains have a nascent ecotourism model that’s focused on low-impact tourism as well as conservation efforts that draw in local communities for mutual prosperity.

What this means is that not only are you going to see very few other tourists, you’re also going to be investing in a region where your tourism money makes a real impact. If you want to be a conscious traveller in Africa, then one of the best things you can do is skip the oversubscribed safari parks and head somewhere like the Viphya Mountains instead.

6. A safe region with no malaria

Another strong attraction of the Viphya Mountains is how safe the region is for travellers.

Moreover, it’s a higher, cooler region than the eastern part of the country (where you find Lake Malawi), so there are no malaria concerns. Many travellers don’t like the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes that accompany many safari destinations, so this is an excellent option for anyone wanting to avoid this trifecta.

So if you’d like a relatively cool climate, pretty scenery and flowers, lots of large game and birds, and the chance to do some adventure activities, set your sights on Malawi’s Viphya Mountains!

Three epic adventures to do in the Viphya Mountains

Here are three top adventures you could plan for your Viphya Mountains journey …

1. Walking, horse riding, and 4×4 safaris in Nyika National Park

One of the main attractions within the Viphya Mountains is Nyika National Park, Malawi’s largest national park.

Some of the wildlife you can hope to spot here are elephants, leopards, buffaloes, zebras, hyenas, jackals, bushpigs and warthogs. There are also many antelopes, including elands, roans, bushbucks, and duikers.

What’s more, while you can look for wildlife on 4×4 drives, as is the norm, you can also do walking and horse-riding safaris. Such safaris offer a more immersive game-spotting experience, as you’re able to drop into silence as well as onto your knee to take a closer look at spoors (tracks) and more. And you’ll be wanting to draw close to the vegetation, as Nyika boasts the richest concentration of wild orchids in southern Africa: a staggering 213 species, of which 30 can’t be found anywhere else!

The birding here is truly excellent too. Malawi Tourism Department claims over 400 species of birds have been spotted in the park! There’s the endemic red-winged francolin (spurfowl), for instance, as well as rare Denham’s bustards and wattled cranes.

2. Adventure holidays in Luwawa Valley

Another great base within the Viphya Mountains is Luwawa Valley in the south. Luwawa Forest Lodge has developed many adventure activities here. For instance, they’ve created various signposted trails you can hike or ride. They also offer abseiling and team-building orienteering courses.

You can go canoeing on nearby Luwawa Dam, and fishers can try to catch wide-mouthed bream, among other fish species.

Avid cyclists should note that every June, the Luwawa International Charity Mountain Bike Marathon takes place here too. This 53-km race, which is included in the UCI World Cycling calendar, leads riders along mountain ridges and through the indigenous forest of South Viphya Forest Reserve. There’s also a shorter 20 km route on offer.

3. Luwawa Mountain Wilderness Trail

Note: This blog post was first written and published by Bronwyn Paxton in 2014. It has since been rewritten and republished by Megan Abigail White on 14 January 2026.