Liwonde

Region

Liwonde is a city in altitude of 560 m with 23,600 inhabitants ( 2006 estimate ) in Malawi. It lies on the Shire River at the foot of the northern end of the Shire highlands and near a national park. This extends from the track Nkaya - Nayuchi the Malawian railway in the south on the Shire river north to the Malombesee.

The city features a 1,000 - m airstrip, primary and secondary schools, a 100-bed hospital, post office and petrol station.

The Liwonde National Park consists of bush and tree savanna, and wide -area marshy wetlands along this meandering river and an overgrown banks of the lake. In the park are simple round huts for overnight stays ready with self catering. Recently there is the Mvuu Wilderness Lodge for the upscale tourism.

You can see numerous species of birds and gazelles, zebras, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, hippos and warthogs.

The Park - officially a reserve - is very elongated. The Shire River forms a marsh area in the park. The Liwonde National Park is a refuge for animals during the dry season, as the Shire throughout the year leads water. During the rainy season many of the animals migrate to Mozambique.

In addition to the Liwonde National Park, there is the Liwonde Hills Forest Reserve, a bird sanctuary.