Mt. Mulanje

IMG_0406, originally uploaded by Benjamin Long.

The local legend, claim to fame or whatever you what to call it is that J.R. Tolkien visited Mt. Mulanje shortly before writing The Hobbit. People even say that the mountain gave him inspiration in writing the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I do not know if it is true or just a ploy to get tourists, but I will say the landscapes of Mt. Mulanje are very similar to the books. It was probably the most remarkable place I have ever visited. Usually over the course of a three-day hike you will be able to experience a few different types of vegetation and landscape. On Mt. Mulanje, around every turn there is a completely different environment. Literally every fifteen to thirty minutes along the hike, we were travelling through a completely different world. One minute, we were walking through dense rain forests with lush green vegetation and waterfalls, and ten minutes later we would be traversing through massive tracts of scorched deforested land. As soon as we were accustomed to the blackened forested, we would enter another world filled with boulders littering across yellow pastures standing almost above our heads. I thought places like this only existed in the dream world or science fiction movies but I was pleasantly surprised to find that is exists in the real world as well.
I hiked the mountain with two friends that I met in Nkhata Bay, Michael and Hagar. Hagar was a great cook which made the trip that much more enjoyable. We stocked up on food in Blantyre and headed for the mountain. Travelling anywhere using public transportation in Africa is experience in itself. After taking three different minibuses with an hour and a half wait for one to fill up with people, we finally made it to the forestry office. We hired a porter, James, and prepared for the hike. We hiked for about an hour the first morning to a waterfall where we planned to eat breakfast and take a swim. It was a great way to start the hike. The rest of the morning we were all in amazed of the beauty and diversity the mountain had to offer. We were travelling through many miniature ecosystems the whole morning, which fed our enthusiasm. As soon as we reached our first tract of blackened earth, a massive thunderstorm erupted sending rain and hail pouring down on us. It was an eerie coincidence to emerge from a lush rain forest into a dismal landscape only to have the weather act accordingly.
The second day was much of the same; wide-eyed and excited to see what would be around the next corner. It was only a four-hour hike to the next hut where we dropped off our things and headed to the peak. Michael and I hiked reached the summit (3002m) by mid-day just in time to relax and soak it all in. The views were stunning, but another rainstorm ended our much-deserved break. We made it back down to the hut to find Hagar preparing dinner for us. We celebrated reaching the peak with a couple beers (which was a bad idea since we were already dehydrated) and sat around the fireplace until we fell asleep.
We made our descent on the third day. We made great time and were able to get back to Blantyre before dark. It was by far the beautiful mountain I have ever climbed and I highly recommend it to anyone planning to travel to Malawi. The total cost of a three-day high including park fees, transportation, hut fees, food, and hiring a porter cost a grand total of $35. Not a bad deal.