Lake Malawi is one of Africa’s unspoiled jewels. It is the largest feature in the country voted in 2013 as one of Top 10 destinations in the world by the authoritative Lonely Planet publishers as well as one of 20 Best Trips by National Geographic.
Lying at the southern end of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, it is 355 miles (575km) from north to south and up to 50 miles(80km) wide. The third largest lake in Africa, and twelfth in the world, it is home to an estimated 1000 species of colourful fish, most of the cichlidae family beloved of freshwater aquarists, and many still evolving in uniquely small environments around isolated islands.
The northern lakeshore, shelving rapidly to depths of more than 700m, is the most unspoiled part of this pristine lake.
Many of the most evocative pictures of Lake Malawi, used in the country’s tourism promotional brochures, coffee-table books, calendars and websites, have been taken on and from The Beach House.
Located at the southern end of the great expanse of Lake Malawi, with its deep, clear waters and mountain backdrop, is Lake Malawi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984 and is home to many hundreds of fish species, nearly all endemic. Its importance for the study of evolution is comparable to that of the finches of the Galapagos Islands.
