As is many countries, the administrative and commercial capitals of Malawi are in separate places. While Lilongwe is the nation’s rather prim and proper administrative capital, for those in business it is Blantyre.

Blantyre is the nation’s financial, commercial and transport center and the home of the Malawi Stock Exchange. The central business district of Blantyre is where it all happens in this otherwise easy-going country.

Both by day and by night, Blantyre is much busier and livelier than the nation’s capital. It has more hotels, more restaurants and more bars than Lilongwe, although these tend to be found out of town rather than in the central business district. Blantyre has a richer heritage than Lilongwe. It was named after the birthplace in Scotland of the explorer and missionary, David Livingstone. Blantyre is one of the oldest urban centers in eastern and southern Africa. It gained municipal status as far back as 1895, while work on St. Michael and All Angels Church in Blantyre began even earlier in 1888.

Blantyre has pleasant climate set in a range of hills at the altitude of about 1,000 meters, and it has a rather pleasant climate most of the year except for two or three months of heavy rain. It is the perfect gateway to the unspoiled south of Malawi. Many visitors fly to Blantyre and stay overnight before heading off to Liwonde and Majete National Parks or to Zomba and Mulanje Mountains.

Blantyre is equally as well served as Lilongwe in terms of air connections, and the national carrier, Air Malawi, has its head office at the city’s Chileka International Airport.

It is here where this year’s Feast of Tabernacles will be held in a magnificent hall funded by LifeNets International at a place called Kanjedza Forest. For more details contact Gracious Mpilangwe at gracmpilangwe@yahoo.com. To register please register on this website and then contact the feast coordinator Gracious Mpilangwe.