Bua River Lodge

Bua River Lodge sits on the bank of the Bua River inside Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in central Malawi. From each tent you look downstream and across to the far bank, which is undeveloped reserve. The property is small and owner-managed, which shapes the pace and character of a stay here.

Accommodation is six safari tents, each on a varnished wooden floor beneath a thatched roof. The tents are built to stay cool: the canvas walls incorporate generous netted openings, ventilation panels near the roofline, and screened doors that allow airflow without letting in insects. Each tent is positioned for privacy — you do not look directly into a neighbour's space — and has a wide viewing deck facing the river. To the rear, every tent has an open-air bathroom with a toilet, hot-water shower, and wash basin; the design gives privacy without enclosing the space. Much of the furniture was made by local artisans, in many cases from dead hardwood recovered within the lodge site itself.

All six tents are within three hundred metres of the main lodge and connected by footpaths. After dark, lodge staff patrol the paths and light them with paraffin lanterns so you can find your way back without a torch.