The central region of Malawi has Lilongwe as its most important city. Lilongwe has been so named, after the river which drains this area and moves further to join the Linthipe River. This city is often referred to by different names like capital city and garden city.
Lilongwe, located in the central region of Malawi rose to prominence after it was decided that an administrative center should be established here. This happened towards the beginning of the last century. Camps were set up here and soon this area saw a rapid rise in its population. This was followed by Lilongwe being declared as a municipality in the year 1966. Lilongwe’ original population that stood at 30 rose to 20, 000 at this time. Centrality and the rise of Lilongwe as the second most important center led to it being considered for being the new capital of Malawi. Besides, the presence of well connected road network added to the location advantage of Lilongwe.
Lilongwe possesses both natural and architectural beauty and as such it is always a delight to pay a visit to this place. Dotted with mountains and hills, Lilongwe has many species of plants and trees like acacia that add to the beauty of this place.
The Lilongwe Nature Reserve is located towards the central part of this city and is home to many animals like leopard, hyena, vervet monkeys, civets, servals, and bush pigs.
Besides, the Kasunga National park lies at a distance of 165 kilometers to the north of Lilongwe and the Nkhotokota Game Reserve lies 115 kilometers to the North East of Lilongwe.