LAKE MALAWI & ISLANDS
Aerial view of the Likoma Island shoreline
A WATER WONDERLAND...
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ake Malawi is one of several impressive lakes running more or less the length of the Great Rift Valley. It is Africa’s third-largest lake after Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika as well as the second-deepest in Africa and the eighth-largest in the world. The lake stretches for over 580 km from north to south and is 75 km across at its widest point. Occupying about 20 per cent of the total surface area of Malawi, the lake covers an area of 29,600 sq km, most of which is located within the State of Malawi. Lake Malawi dominates life across much of the country and provides a livelihood for many Malawians. It is a bountiful supplier of fish, with
Fishermen on Lake Malawi
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boats of up to 17.5 metres in length working its waters, while many small boats also go out each day in search of fish from villages along the lake. The lake contains more species of fish than any other comparable body of water on Earth. Dotted along the western shore is an assortment of small resorts as well as the occasional campsite or isolated lodge. These stretch from Karonga in the far north, close to the Tanzanian border, to Mangochi, the southernmost tip of the lake, before it empties into Shire River, the only outlet of Lake Malawi. There are various tourist lodges and facilities on the lakeside, while other hideaway lodges are perched on small eco-islands out in the lake reachable only by boat or canoe.