Running for more than 347 mi/560 km along the Rift Valley Floor approximately 800 mi/1,300 km north of Maputo, Lake Niassa (also known as Lake Malawi) forms part of the border between Mozambique and the nation of Malawi, at the northwest extreme of Mozambique.
The world's ninth largest freshwater body, it offers fishing and various watersports and is known to ecologists for its remarkable piscine diversity, with more than 500 different species of endemic cichlid described to date. It's an excellent place to experience local life in shoreline fishing communities.
There are only limited accommodations in the Mozambican towns along the lake, so we suggest seeing it from a Malawi town instead.
If you do visit it in Mozambique, ask locally about the presence of the bilharzia parasite in the lake—some areas are safe, some are not.
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