Diminutive Malawi is actually one of Southeast Africa’s least visited countries, with many travelers favouring ‘Big Five’ safari destinations, but to visit this landlocked region is to get an everlasting impression of Africa’s diversity. There is just so much there to fill the time of the intrepid traveler. Wildlife abounds – you’ll spot hippos, crocodiles, black rhinos and, more recently, lions thanks to a 2012 reintroduction programme; it’s also a twitcher’s utopia with over 400 species of bird recorded. And what of the phenomenal landscape upon which this wildlife lives? On the one hand looming mountains and wild forests ripe for trekking, and on the other Lake Malawi, the country’s very own sparkling sea fringed with golden beach and lapped at by luminescent waters. Then there’s the people; an aspect of Malawi life that will stay with you long after you’ve left: resilient, warm and inherently happy, their irrepressible smiles, outright charisma and desire for little more than a roof and somewhere to grow food is humbling, moving and infectious all at once.

Read more in our Malawi travel guide.

Besides travel on the famous Ilala, a 620-tonne passenger boat that travels the 365km length of Lake Malawi daily (the lake runs two-thirds of the length of the entire country), Malawi is traversed by road and road alone. Trips are usually based in one region with a travel time of between two and six hours to get from A to B – Lilongwe to Liwonde National Park takes 5hrs 45mins for example, and Zomba is a further 2hrs 30mins south from there. By African standards, the quality of the roads is good: they’re tarmacked, but potholes, people and animals will slow you down, so don’t expect speedy progress.