Lilongwe Travel Guide

Lilongwe Travel Guide – City guide to Lilongwe with travel reviews on sightseeing, attractions, weather, shopping, map, city tours and best time to travel.
Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi. It is located in the Central Region, 300km north of Blantyre along the Lilongwe River at an altitude of about 1000m. Lilongwe’s strategic location on the main north-south highway through to Northern Zambia has accelerated the city’s fast growth into becoming the second largest city in Malawi.

Lilongwe City Street

Back to roots, Lilongwe started as a small village on the banks of the river Lilongwe; it later became a British colonial administrative centre in the 20th century. The city is renowned for its ancient artistic architecture.
Recently, the country’s parliament has been shifted to Lilongwe and handles all the legislative matters of Malawi. It is a perfect blend of a conventional city with a contemporary one. The city resumed a political status of Malawi whereas Blantyre remained the economic capital. The city has a population of 902,388 dwellers.
Lilongwe is a multi-functional city performing several functions. It hosts the top Government administrative headquarters, International Aid Agencies, Diplomatic Missions and the Reserve Bank Headquarters. The city boasts a lively nightlife with a casino within the city centre that offers entertainment to the city dwellers. There are also many coffee shops, cafes; bars, clubs and restaurants.
City Attractions
Although this city is not much appealing to the tourists, it has equally become an attractive destination for the shopaholic travelers. Some of the prominent attractions in Lilongwe include a Nature Sanctuary along Kenyatta Rd, Lilongwe Golf Club with high-quality sporting facilities, a popular market on Malangalanga Road, renowned for holding cloth arcades and the old Indian spice.
Lilongwe Accommodation Options

Sunbird Capital Hotel

There are a number of first-class hotels and other accommodation options available in Lilongwe with the Sunbird Capital hotel and Sunbird Lilongwe hotel being the best known. Others include Kiboko Town Hotel, Korea Garden Lodge, Heuglin’s Lodge, Burley House, Africa House Malawi, Madidi Lodge, Kumbali Country Lodge, Sanctuary Lodge, Backpackers, Mabuya Camp, and Mufasa Lodge.
Weather and When to Travel
Lilongwe city experiences a humid subtropical climate with pleasantly warm summers and mild winters. Lilongwe features a short wet season between December and March and later a prolonged dry spell coming in the later part of the year. However, the city experiences heavy downpours during the rainy season, seeing around 200mm of rain in a month during the wettest months. During the rainy season, between November and April, Lilongwe is muddy, humid, and hot. June and July are relatively cool and windy months. Much as the city is located in the tropics, its temperatures are generally low, a condition attributed to its altitude. During the other months of the year, Lilongwe is dry and dusty. June and July are cooler than the rest of the year and this presents the best time to travel to Lilongwe and Malawi holidays.