Gorode Road (Livingstonia Switchbacks)
Gorode
A dirt-and-stone mountain road that climbs about 700 meters from the lakeshore to the escarpment top, with around 20 hairpin bends and views over Lake Malawi.
To reach Livingstonia from the lakeside town near Chitimba, just off the M1 road, you follow a roughly 15-km dirt-and-stone track. It winds up the rift valley cliffs through about 20 numbered hairpin bends, gaining around 700 meters in elevation. It is often called one of Malawi's most hair-raising roads. The mission station built the road at the end of the 19th century. The surface is steep and rocky, so only high-clearance 4WD vehicles can manage it. You can also hire local pickups or motorbikes. The most popular option is to hike up or down, which takes about 3–4 hours and offers views over Lake Malawi and the lakeshore plains. It gets very hot at midday, so carry plenty of water. Heavy rain often washes parts of the road out, so check conditions before you set off. The coordinates given are estimated for the middle section of the road.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Livingstonia Escarpment Viewpoint (Mushroom Farm)
- Manchewe Falls
- Chitimba Beach
- Livingstonia Mission Heritage Buildings
- Stone House Museum
- Livingstonia Mission Church