Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve

The Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve, rising like a great backbone of stone from the dusty plains of southern Malawi, just a stone's throw from the border with Mozambique, has to be one of the country's most breathtaking.

Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in Malawi that was established in 1927. The reserve is 56,317 hectares in size. The Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust manages it. UNESCO designated the reserve as a biosphere reserve in 2000. Thus it is considered one of the ideal travel destinations in Malawi. The highest peak in the country – and the region as a whole – its whopping height of 3,000 meters above sea level is enough to host a diverse range of habitats.

The woodlands of the endangered widdringtonia African cypress tree, which pepper the ridges sporadically as they rise to meet the sky, are perhaps the most famous.

• Locations: Southern Malawi