Dzalanyama Forest Lodge

Seven marked trails leave from the lodge and cross Dzalanyama Forest, a 989-square-kilometre reserve that rises from 1,100 to 1,650 metres along the Malawi-Mozambique border. The Mukwa, Kauziuzi, Protea, Confluence, Water Intake, Mtsotsolo, and Upper Forest routes range from short walks to full-day hikes; each passes different canopy, stream, or ridge formations. Three mapped mountain-bike circuits — the Plantation, Border, and Cattle Ranch routes — cover gradients and distances marked on downloadable GPS files and printed maps held at the lodge. The lodge stands above the Mataka stream forty kilometres south-east of Lilongwe on a dirt road through Kachere village. Three thatched en-suite chalets sit raised in the treeline; each has a veranda, safe, mosquito nets, and views over the stream and forest. Two chalets hold twin beds; one family chalet has a double and a single. The main house holds four rooms — two en-suite, two sharing a bathroom — sleeping up to fourteen across the property. Solar panels power lighting and low-voltage sockets; a wood-fired stove, bread oven, and braai equip the veranda for self-catering stays. Fully catered stays are available. The campsite sits at the edge of the Mataka stream beside a small waterfall; it has three pitches, eco-toilets, hot showers, braai areas, and firepits. Two remote camping shelters with pit latrines stand in the forest at stream edges. The lodge runs school-building projects at Dzalanyama and Kachere schools and a bamboo-planting initiative with surrounding households.