Did you know? Mulanje Mountain History

Mulanje mountain is the largest mountain in southern part of Malawi and it consists of the Sapitwa peak which is the highest point in Malawi about 3002 metre. It is surrounded by the plains of Mulanje and Phalombe districts and lies East of Blantyre about 65 kilometers.

Gogo Kaunda, 90, of Chinakanaka community in Mulanje district said the mountain was formed by the intrusion of magma on the earth’s surface about 130 million years ago.

“The mountain that you are seeing today is over 130 million years that means before I was born the mountain was still there, even my grandparents are younger than the mountain, you can see that the mountain has been here for decades and it will always be here”, he said

The mountain has several peaks for example Chambe, which is believed to be 2500m and more people go there for hiking.

According to Gogo Kaunda, the mountain is believed to be the home of the spirits in a way that food more especially fruits were abundantly found.

“If you find food during your trip in the mountain just seat down and eat what you have found without asking many questions and that is the more reason why people used to say the mountain is spiritual” he added

Speaking on the history of the mountain, Gogo suwaya, 89, said the first man to see the mountain in Africa was Dr Livingstone who was a European and Sapitwa was the first peak to be climbed in 1894.

“My grandmother used to tell me about the great mountain that is why I am able to explain all this, Sapitwa was the first peak to be climbed followed by the Chambe peak and the first man to see the mountain in Africa was Livingstone”, Suwaya said

The great Mulanje mountain is well known by hiking and site viewing.