With its attractive scenery and friendly atmosphere, Likoma Island is a great place to get away from it all © Kaya Mawa
Today, the island’s main attraction for travellers is its isolation from the mainland and mellow atmosphere.
The island of Likoma, 8km long and 3km wide, lies within Mozambican waters but is territorially part of Malawi, mainly as a result of its long association with Scottish missionaries. Today, the island’s main attraction for travellers is its isolation from the mainland and mellow atmosphere. This is no conventional tropical-island paradise, though the beaches really are splendid with the mountainous Mozambican shore rising above them, while the interior has a certain austere charm, particularly the southern plains which are covered in massive baobabs, shady mango trees and studded with impressive granite outcrops. Likoma has always generated a great deal of interest among travellers, but it remains surprisingly little visited. Above all, perhaps, Likoma has an overwhelmingly friendly mood, making it a good place to get to know ordinary Malawians.