Malawi aims for the top: wealth of climbs shows endless potential

Although Malawi is mainly known for the stunning Lake Malawi and, more recently, its extensive program of successful wildlife conservation and restoration, Malawi's beautiful and diverse landscapes are also a key attraction for its visitors. Despite its small size, the country is home to a remarkable variety of landscapes - mountains, plateaus, highlands, plains, river valleys and much more. Malawi's highlands reach heights of 10,000 feet, are green, lush, rugged in places and just waiting to be explored.

Now it seems it has begun!

Newly launched Climb Malawi is now highlighting Malawi's mountaineering wealth and providing residents and visitors with increasing opportunities to access it. Climb Malawi, a self-proclaimed “socio-economically inclusive climbing community in the Warm Heart of Africa where everyone is welcome and no one is turned away,” opened a donation-based climbing facility in Lilongwe and is developing bouldering and climbing areas across the country. Their goal is to encourage more local Malawians to try the sport, as well as generate valuable income from international climbers to help local communities and overall development. Climbing hotspots around the world can attract tens of thousands of people each year, who collectively spend millions of dollars.

In November, Malawi's reputation as a climbing destination made headlines with feature articles in publications such as The New York Times, for which Michael Levy asked: "Is climbing the future of Malawi?" Since the country is “blessed with an abundance of rocks... speckled with fine-grained granite domes rising thousands of feet; small steeper rocks of melon-orange color; and countless boulder fields littered with house-sized boulders," it's no wonder those in the know see "huge, mind-boggling potential" with some real finds - "if you've climbed anywhere in the world, you know that walls like Chamba are of this quality rocks are rare. This is a gold mine." Mount Mulanje (home of Chambe) already boasts the longest technical climbing in Africa, but its current 25 or so routes could easily be expanded 100-fold.

Similarly, on GearJunkie.com, Andrew McLemore was adamant that: “There is no doubt that Malawi has almost endless climbing potential. Its numerous granite domes, cliffs and boulders make it a world-class destination for all types of rock climbers. Longer routes range from 300 feet to an incredible 5,600 feet.” Climb Malawi founder Tyler Algeo is equally excited about the possibilities: “It's a very exciting time here, an ocean of rocks and an incredibly active community... This is a really great and unprecedented opportunity to do something special.”

With rock climbing offering another thread in Malawi's tourism profile, and an even greater variety of experiences and attractions on offer to visitors, it is no surprise that the country is now being hailed as "one of Africa's most accomplished destinations".