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Chelinda Camp: Our full report

Located in the Nyika National Park, overlooking a crystal-clear trout dam is Chelinda Camp.

It has lovely views of the rolling hills and open grasslands. This Park was established in 1965 and covers an area of 3,134 square km’s and is Malawi’s oldest and largest national park.

The accommodation at Chelinda camp consists of two options. There are four chalets each with two bedrooms, a bathroom, dining room and a small kitchen. Then there are six en-suite bedrooms with twin beds and either a bath or a shower. Each room shares a main dining, bar and lounge area with an inviting fireplace for the cold Nyika nights. Guests staying in the chalets are usually on a self-catering basis and those staying in the individual rooms will have their meals in the dining room.

Chelinda Camp is located about a kilometre from its sister lodge – Chelinda Lodge.

Activities at Chelinda Camp are the same as at the Lodge and include day and night drives. You will be able to get close to large herds of roan, eland and Crawshay’s zebra and also see reedbuck, bushbuck, warthog and side-striped jackal. During the evening drives you may be lucky enough to see the elusive leopard, serval and hyena as well as other nocturnal game. Nyika is also a great spot for birdwatchers – being the home to over 400 species. It is also home to a number of endemic subspecies such as Rufous-naped Lark and Red-winged Francolin.

Chelinda also has mountain bikes and this is a great way to explore the scenery and get close to the wildlife. There is a range of biking trails to suit all levels of fitness.

There are three dams in front of the camp and “catch and release” fishing is available from here.

Nyika is a botanists delight in the summer with 11 local orchids and other beautiful species.

Being at such a high altitude, Nyika is malaria-free, but this does also mean that the air temperature can be cold so it's best to bring warm clothing with you all year round.

Our view

Nyika is a beautiful spot for birders, botanists and for those who just want to enjoy the vast open vistas of the rolling grasslands. Chelinda Camp is a very simple no frills place and will appeal to those who are travelling on a budget and who do not mind self-catering.

Claire Scott

Country manager: Malawi

Geographics

Location: Nyika Plateau, Malawi
Ideal length of stay: 3 nights will allow you to relax and explore this beautiful, remote part of Malawi
Accessible by

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board

Special interests

Wildlife safaris: Chelinda Camp, on the remote Nyika Plateau, is a lovely spot to view plains game such as eland, roan, zebra, reedbuck and bushbuck. You may also see warthog, spotted hyena and side striped jackal and the occasional leopard. Nyika is also home to around 400 different bird species.; See ideas for Wildlife safaris in Malawi