Nkhoma Mountain

Nkhoma rises to around sixteen hundred metres southeast of Lilongwe above the mission station of the same name, founded by Dutch Reformed missionaries in 1896, which still runs a hospital and a school. The mountain is granite with woodland on its lower slopes and bare rock above, climbed in two to three hours on a path from the mission with a wide view over the central plateau from the top. The mission was one of the earliest Dutch Reformed foundations in the country and it shaped the surrounding district, which is why a substantial hospital and school stand at the foot of an otherwise empty mountain.

What you actually see

• The summit - granite at around sixteen hundred metres above the plateau.
• The mission - the 1896 station with its hospital and school below.
• The plateau view - the central Malawian country from the top.
• The woodland slopes - the surviving trees on the lower mountain.

When to go

May to October is the dry season and best for the climb. Mornings are coolest. The rock is dangerous when wet.

Honest expectations

The path is unmarked in places and a local guide helps. The rock is slippery when wet. The mission is a working institution and not a visitor site.

Nearby

Lilongwe is northwest, and Dedza is south.