One of Central Africa’s most spectacular landscapes
Nyika National Park is the oldest and largest national park in Malawi, covering an area of 3,200 square kilometres across a plateau that rises to an altitude of 2,600 metres. Nyika is also considered one of the most beautiful parks in Central Africa, thanks to the spectacular scenery it offers visitors. The plateau is characterised by a succession of gentle rolling hills interrupted by pockets of evergreen forest. These forests are the remnants of the vast rainforest that once covered much of Central Africa and now survives only here and in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But Nyika National Park’s distinctions do not end there. The plateau is one of the wettest areas in Malawi and, in the local language, Nyika means “where the water comes from”. The flora of the plateau is unique, rich in wildflowers and an extraordinary variety of orchids, with around 200 species recorded. The park is also home to one of the highest densities of leopards in Africa, as well as zebras, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, jackals and several antelope species, including eland, roan antelope, hartebeest and klipspringers. More than 400 bird species have also been recorded within the park.