Nyika National Park
Wildlife & Animals
Malawi Parks
By Ariadne van Zandbergen
Ariadne is a renowned Africa expert. She and her husband form a team who write and update many Bradt guides, including the guide to Malawi.
There is a good variety of wildlife on Nyika Plateau, but a lot of the big safari animals, including lion, are missing. Buffalo and elephant are present on the lower slopes in the forest areas of the park, but this is not accessible to tourists. Due to poaching, wildlife numbers are generally low outside of the area around the lodge.
Wildlife Highlights
Nyika has the highest density of leopards in Malawi. Although shy, they can often be spotted on night drives. Some seem to have taken residence in the forest behind the lodge, and can sometimes be seen drinking at the Chelinda dam. Crawshay's zebra, a localized sub-species of Burchell’s zebra, is common around Chelinda as are eland, roan antelope, common reedbuck, bushbuck and duiker.
Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
Wildlife viewing is good throughout the year in Nyika. November to May are the best months to come here as this is the warmest time of the year. June to August tends to be very cold (which makes the otherwise popular night drives challenging), and some animals tend to move to lower altitudes at that time.
Wildlife Rating Per Major Park
- Liwonde NP 3.8/5 10 Wildlife Ratings
- Majete WR 3.8/5 6 Wildlife Ratings
- Nyika NP 3.2/5 6 Wildlife Ratings
