For many, Nkhata Bay is the prettiest and coolest corner of Lake Malawi: a tropical northern port tucked between deep-green hills and rocky coves where the water is clear and deep. It has a different feel from the rest of the lake, almost Caribbean, with its lush vegetation, hidden bays and lodges perched over the water, reached by paths through the trees and from which you can dive headfirst into the lake.
It is one of the lake's two big backpacker destinations —along with Cape Maclear— and the best place in the country for freshwater diving and snorkelling, along rock walls teeming with colourful cichlids. Add to that jumping into the water from the rocks, kayaking to secluded coves, boat trips and a relaxed, musical, sociable atmosphere, in the land of the welcoming Tonga people. It is not unusual to arrive for two nights and stay a week.
This practical guide explains how to make the most of Nkhata Bay: how to get there from Mzuzu or Lilongwe, what to do in the water (diving, snorkelling, kayaking, jumping), where to stay and eat on any budget, and how to use the port to catch the Ilala ferry to Likoma and Chizumulu islands. A place to slow down, get into the lake and discover why the north of the 'lake of stars' is said to be its most beautiful stretch.
Nkhata Bay is the land of the Tonga people, fishermen of the northern lake, and was a stop for lake shipping and a base for the Scottish missions that settled in the area in the late 19th century. Nearby, at Bandawe, the Livingstonia mission had an intermediate stage before moving up to the plateau. In colonial times it was a port on Lake Nyasa, and in 1959, during the struggle for independence, it was the scene of a bloody crackdown. Today it is a fishing port and the lake's great diving destination. Its history is told on our history page.
Read the full history ↓The Tonga coast of the north: the backpacker and diving port of Nkhata Bay, remote Likoma Island with its Anglican cathedral and the overland beaches of Kande.
Read the history of The north of the lake →No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
The Nkhata Bay region is the land of the Tonga people, a Bantu group settled for centuries on the northwestern shore of Lake Malawi. Unlike other areas, the Tonga developed a culture deeply tied to the water: skilled fishermen and boatmen, they lived off the lake's abundance —'chambo', 'usipa' and dozens of other fish species— and off farming on the fertile hills that surround the northern bays.
The landscape, with green hills dropping sharply onto rocky coves and deep water, shaped Tonga life and settlement, spread across villages along the coast and up in the hills. The north's wetter, rainier climate gave the region lush vegetation and a tropical feel that sets it apart from the drier south. Fishing, the canoe and the lake are still at the heart of local life.
In the 19th century, like the rest of the lake, the northern region was shaken by slave raids and by the migrations of other peoples, such as the Ngoni, who arrived from southern Africa. The Tonga endured those pressures but kept their identity and their strong bond with the lake, which lives on today in their culture, their music —northern Malawi has a rich musical tradition— and their way of life.
The northern lake was one of the main stages of the Scottish missionary work that followed in David Livingstone's footsteps. After the failure of the first Livingstonia mission at Cape Maclear, devastated by malaria, the missionaries of the Free Church of Scotland looked for a healthier site and moved north. One stop along the way was Bandawe, near Nkhata Bay, where a mission was set up that worked closely with the Tonga people.
At Bandawe, missionaries such as Robert Laws carried out remarkable educational and medical work among the Tonga, who proved especially receptive to Western education. The mission schools trained many Tonga who would go on to hold prominent positions in the administration and the church and, later, in the nationalist movement and independent Malawi. The Scottish missions left a deep and lasting mark on education in the north.
Finally, in 1894, the Livingstonia mission found its permanent home high on the northern plateau, in a healthy, cool spot above the Rift Valley, where it still stands today. But the Bandawe years left their mark on the Nkhata Bay region: the church, education and a particular relationship between the Tonga and Scottish Christianity, which help explain this area's prominent role in Malawi's modern history.
During the British protectorate of Nyasaland (1907–1964), Nkhata Bay became established as one of the ports on the lake's western shore, part of the lake shipping network that was vital for connecting the country's long, narrow territory. Steamers linked Nkhata Bay with the south of the lake, with Likoma and Chizumulu islands and with the eastern shore, carrying goods, passengers, mail and the region's produce.
The port was an outlet for the north's farming and fishing output and a link for the Tonga communities along the coast. Lake shipping, with vessels such as what would become the legendary Ilala —launched in 1951—, made Nkhata Bay an important stop in the economic and social life of the lake, a role it keeps to this day as one of the main stops of the ferry that runs the length of the lake.
The bay, with its sheltered harbour tucked between hills, thus held a double identity: Tonga fishing village and hub of lake shipping. Being a port connected it to the rest of the country and the lake, and laid the groundwork for its later transformation into a tourist destination, when travellers began arriving, drawn by its tropical beauty and its waters.
Northern Malawi, and Nkhata Bay in particular, played a painful part in the struggle for independence. In the late 1950s, opposition to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland —which tied the country to the Rhodesias, dominated by white settlers— fuelled a strong nationalist movement led by Hastings Kamuzu Banda and the Nyasaland African Congress. In March 1959, the colonial government declared a state of emergency and unleashed widespread repression.
In that context, Nkhata Bay was the scene of one of the most tragic episodes: in March 1959, colonial forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters at the port, killing several people in what became known as the Nkhata Bay massacre. The event shocked the country and international opinion, and became a symbol of the brutality of colonial rule and a key moment on the road to independence.
Malawi gained independence in 1964, with Banda at its head, and the north —with its missionary education tradition and its role in the nationalist struggle— kept a distinct identity within the country. Nkhata Bay preserves the memory of those events as part of its history, alongside its role as a fishing port and gateway to the lake's islands.
Today Nkhata Bay combines its old soul as a Tonga fishing port with that of one of Lake Malawi's great backpacker destinations. Its tropical beauty —green hills, rocky coves, deep, clear water— and its relaxed, musical atmosphere have made it, along with Cape Maclear, a favourite stop for travellers crossing eastern and southern Africa, drawn by the diving, snorkelling, cliff jumping and the slow pace of its lodges perched above the lake.
It is also the best place in the country for freshwater diving, thanks to the underwater topography of its coves, with walls, caves and shoals of cichlids. Dive centres offer cheap courses, and the lodges organise kayaking, boat trips and outings to waterfalls and inland villages. All without losing the pulse of local life: the fish market, the canoes, the music and Tonga hospitality.
As a main stop on the Ilala ferry, Nkhata Bay is also still the gateway to the remote Likoma and Chizumulu islands and a key link in the north of the lake. From Tonga land and Scottish mission to colonial port, scene of the independence struggle and today a travellers' paradise, Nkhata Bay sums up the history of northern Lake Malawi and offers, perhaps, its greenest and most beautiful stretch.
