Malawi becomes particularly attractive to globetrotters variety of landscape and the wildlife it shelters in its rugged escarpments, valleys and the thickly forested slopes of the plateaus. Located in south-eastern Africa, Malawi is a landlocked country. However this doesn’t hinder the aquatic prospects of the country as it is home to the gigantic Lake Malawi. Sprawling over some 360 miles long and about 1,500 ft above sea level, it is the most prominent physical feature of Malawi. Then the Great Rift Valley that rolls down the country terrain from north to south comes. The banks and Highlands of Shire River and Nyika Uplands are other major topographical ingredients of Malawi. The country also possesses two maritime exclaves with islands of Likoma and Chizumulu within Mozambique territories.
Once home to Bantu tribes, the earliest human inhabitation of Malawi dates back to 8000–2000 B.C. European settlement began in the country with David Livingstone arriving in the regions around 1850s. British South African Company took over the region and it came to be known as the Nyasaland Protectorate. On July 6, 1964, Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi. Two years later, it became a republic and today Malawi, among many other ones, is a member of Southern African Development Community, G-77, World Intellectual Property Organization and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.