Old Town Market, Lizulu Fabric Stalls and Kumbali Village

If City Centre is where Lilongwe conducts government business, Old Town south of the Lingadzi River is where the capital trades, sews, carves and cooks. Spending a morning walking between the two river bridges of Old Town and an afternoon in the forest estate of Kumbali gives you an immediate feel for everyday Malawian life.

Old Town Market (Malaga Street) and the Lizulu Bridge

Start on Malaga Street inside the walled Lilongwe Central (Old Town) Market in Area 2. Divided into neat lanes of open-air stalls and tin-roofed sheds, the market smells of sun-dried Lake Malawi fish (usipa and smoked kampango catfish), mounds of red bird's-eye chillies, cassava, sweet potatoes, groundnuts and seasonal mangoes. Walk five minutes north toward the Lilongwe River to reach the pedestrian bridge and riverbanks of Lizulu Market. The entire length of the bridge and surrounding lanes is hung with hundreds of six-metre bolts of colourful wax-print chitenje cotton fabric; once you choose a pattern with Kwacha cash, foot-treadle sewing-machine tailors sitting along the veranda can hem a wrap or stitch a custom shirt or tote bag within an hour.

Old Post Office Curio Market on Kenyatta Drive

Just outside the Old Post Office along Kenyatta Drive between Area 2 and Area 3, dozens of open-air woodcarvers and painters set out the Lilongwe Curio Market. Look for three classic Malawian pieces: the two-plank interlocking Malawian chief's chair carved with village scenes, heavy hardwood bawo (mancala) boards hollowed out with thirty-two playing pits (ask a vendor to teach you the fast-paced local rules), and expressive carved wooden masks inspired by the Chewa Gule Wamkulu traditions. Bargaining is expected, always conducted with humour and a handshake rather than aggression.

Kumbali Cultural Village and Nature Reserve

Ten kilometres south-east of City Centre off the Airwing road, Kumbali Cultural Village sits inside a 650-hectare working dairy farm and indigenous permaculture forest reserve. You can visit for lunch and an afternoon walk through the miombo woodland trails, inspect traditional thatched Chewa homestead architecture, sample Kumbali's farm-made gouda and feta cheeses, and watch high-energy traditional drumming and dance troupes perform in the outdoor amphitheatre. Pair a Kumbali afternoon with Malawian chambo dining.