Blantyre is Malawi's most populated city and its commercial centre. The foundation and early history of the town is strongly linked with the early Scottish Missionaries and settlers and it is named after the suburb of Glasgow in which legendary explorer David Livingstone was born and brought up.
The city sprawls for about 20km and merges into the 'sister city' of Limbe which was set up as an up market part of the region where European settlers built their homes. Despite being spread out the actual city centre of Blantyre is quite compact and most sites for travellers to see are within a walking distance of each other.
Main roads feed into Blantyre from Lilongwe and Lake Malawi from the north, Mulanje from the east and Zomba from the south east. You can also access the Shire Valley and smaller national parks such as Lengwe and Majete from Blantyre. There is a good international airport and air charter companies as well as an excellent ground handling service.
Modern day Blantyre is bustling and busy with plenty of lively street stalls and open air markets to visit as well as some interesting craft stalls in the town centre. The exact itinerary of any city tour will of course depend on the amount of time available to you but among the places you could visit are:
The Cathedral of St Michael’s and All Angels Built in 1891, this is the first permanent structure of Christian Worship erected between the Zambezi and the Nile Rivers and incredibly it was built mainly of mud from termite mounds- that such a substantial and ornate building still stands is a testament to the building prowess of the early Scots and their Malawian assistants.
Mandala House The first private company to invest in this region was the African Lakes Company started in the 1890’s by the Moir Brothers. Built as the company headquarters, the house was the first 2 story dwelling in Central Africa. It is still used as offices and the whole downstairs section is taken up by “La Galeria”-a wonderful Art Gallery featuring the best works of many local artists as well as a selection of wood carvings from the world famous Mua Mission.
Limbe Market While there are open air markets all over Malawi, Limbe has one of the biggest and busiest. All manner of goods are sold here from fresh fruit and vegetables to fish, meat, engine spares and hardware and it provides a fascinating glimpse into every day life and the Malawian ability to recycle and make do.