Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve

The Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve is Malawi's largest, covering 1800 sq km of rugged terrain with many rivers and watercourses tumbling down the escarpment and into Lake Malawi.

Now one of Malawi’s great success stories, after years of poaching and lawlessness depleted numbers of animals and tourist revenues. African Parks have transformed the park, having taken over the management in 2015, and started a huge translocation project bringing in over 500 elephant and 2000 other animals to repopulate the reserve. With well trained and equipped rangers and strong community engagement, poaching and encroachment into the park is a thing of the past. 

Did you know?

• Canoeing on the Bua River is a great way to see the birds and wildlife, and there is great fly fishing all year round.
• There is a plethora of birds and with the first rains the area bursts into life with flowers and new green leaves. 
• Camera traps recorded the presence of roan antelope and honey badger, species thought to have been locally extinct.
• New tourist revenues have helped to pay for 200 scholarships to vulnerable children and 500 students and community members to visit the reserve as part of an environmental education programme.
• You can hike up Chipata Mountain and get great views of the whole area.