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Chelinda Campground | Established Campground

Malawi

Details

Verified:
about 2 months ago
Elevation:
0.0 masl
Website:
Phone:
None
Contributor:
Tucks' Truck

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
Warm
Water:
Non-Potable
Toilets:
Running Water
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
Yes
Pet Friendly:
Yes
Sanitation Dump Station:
No

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Nice campground on the Nyika plateau at 2.200 m with 3 places. All have a big boma, a fireplace, and a leveled spot for the car. Clean and large ablutions, with hot water. Wonderful views, good possibilities for guided walks, self-drive and self-walk tours. Mateo the caretaker is a wonderful host, lightning the fire, heating the donkey, cleaning the site. 25$ ppn is high, but it is really remote. The road from Nyika Gate is long and challenging.

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still a nice campsite with very helpful staff and good ablutions. scenery still nice too.
rates still a hefty $25pppn payable at campsite in cash or by card (with 4% charge), park fees $10pppn and vehicle fee $3 (payable at gate in cash dollars or kwacha). price includes all-you-can-burn firewood and site staff who are extremely eater to help.
you might get the impression from the campsite staff that you need a guide to hike in the the park as it is dangerous and you could get lost. they recommend their 2 hour guided hike at $20pp. but this is not a park rule. we decided not to pay chris badger $40 to go for a walk and instead enjoyed a lovely hike ourselves in the rolling hills; landscape and weather very reminiscent of ireland, with zebra and roan antelope stepping in for sheep and deer.

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Nice view from the campsite, but that's all positive... Price is 25 USD pppn, which is appalling. We talked about it with the manager and he told us that the Lodge and campsite are owned by a British national who wants to maximise its profits. So prices are extremely high and staff is well underpaid... The only way to stop this nonsense of extreme pricing, is to avoid this place all together and go to the Zambian Guesthouse instead (or stay at the gates).

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It is still a beautiful campsite and everything is in very good condition. Matthew is a nice guy and has been looking after everything here for over 10 years now. Firewood is included in the price and Matthew also lovingly takes care of the fire and makes sure that it is burning again at 6am after the rather cold night so that you can warm up.

However, we find the price of now 25$ pp pn completely exaggerated

We drove north today, where there are 2 viewpoints. “Domwe Peak” and ‘Jalawe Peak’. Unfortunately we couldn't reach either of them and had to turn around.
The Domwe Peak viewpoint ended at the bridge, which is absolutely impassable. But it was still worth the effort to get here. Insanely beautiful landscape!
The path to the “Jalawe Peak” viewpoint simply ended about 2-3 km before. But in our opinion, the scenery here is also worth the way.

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Loverly camp , so overpriced , very expensive . Mateo at the campsite is absolutely amazing , lights fires for you all day and night , excellent

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Fantastic camp, came for two nights, stayed for four. Meteo had a campfire and hot, hot water going when we arrived at 7pm. It's cold here in July, frost in the camp, so warmth is essential. We went birding in the forest with guide Arrum. Very knowledgeable and he found us some interesting birds.

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Fully agree to the other comments. We stayed 2 nights and enjoyed a relaxed self drive safari in this wonderful landscape.

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Nice campsite, but way too overpriced. We stayed with 2 adults and 2 kids, total$ $75. Matheo the caretaker is a nice guy and provides a campfire and hot water for the showers. He also can do your dishes. At night the animals are coming to the campsite.

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Amazingly beautiful National Park! So different from every other. This is the only official campsite inside the park and pretty expensive ($25/pppn), but it was worth it to experience this place. We were the only guests, so after the caretaker had done us a fire and heated the donkey, he left and we had the place all to ourselves with fantastic views and many animal visitors (reedbucks,
Owls etc.). We had nice drives in the park that has great views. But the drive here to Nyika from Mzuzu was long and the last streches on the M9 turned more like to a small track. And from the gate it’s still over 50km to the campsite and the road had a few trickier spots where 4x4 was needed. So in wet season it’d be much harder to get here. Was still worth it, despite the long way. At the gate park fees can only be paid with cash (kwacha or USD), camping can be paid at the lodge with card, too.

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Only campground in the national park. Three beautiful sites with large fire pits, concrete shaded elevated pads with picnic tables and grassy parking for vehicles. Total cost person per night for foreigners is $35 ($10 park entrance and $25 camping fee) plus $3 for vehicle..Park and vehicle fees paid at entrance gate, cash only kwacha or USD. Camping fee paid at lodge, cash or credit but 4% charge for using credit card. Camp host, Mateo, is super, welcoming and goes out of his way to make everything comfortable. He lights morning and evening fires for guests and keeps the hot water going for the ablutions. Recommend guided walk with Blessing, $20pp for two hours. Airtel réception spotty in the Park in general but excellent at the campsites.

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Cycling from the southern gate the route to the campground is 58km and a cumulative 1,150 metres of elevation gain. The road is a little rough at times but we did it on two heavily-laden touring bikes with (balding) 1.75 tyres so if we can do it you definitely can. It’s slow going though - our average speed was around 11km/h and we needed to get off and push one or two times. The first few climbs are the hardest then it flattens out for ages (if you stick to the M9 road) before getting increasingly undulating towards the end. Interesting to note the road crosses the Zambian border multiple times - you can see the concrete border markers switching from the left to the right side of the road. Not a single car passed us all day and it got quite hot with not much shade after the half-way point so bring enough water for the ride. The ride out of the park to the north is a very, very steep and, at times, slightly technical descent - enjoy!

The campsite is really peaceful, it’s really worth coming here just to feel like you’re on your own for a bit. We drank the tap water - it comes from a stream but if you’ve been in Africa for a bit it’s fine. The shop in the workers’ village 1km down the road sells basics - eggs, soya pieces, onions, biscuits, rice. Hot showers, a fire waiting for your arrival (the park gate lets the campsite know you’re coming) and the wonderful, knowledgable, host Blessing add to the charm of the place. For us it was worth coming here, especially for the incredible views on the cycle out of the park to the north

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Nice campground with reasonable ablutions and a friendly and highly motivated caretaker. We paid over 50 USD for two adults with a car.

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decided to stay at the camp even though it's $25. it was worth it. a nice ride to the camp and then the camp staff named Blessing made a fire and prepared plenty of wood for the evening. hot shower and tap water to wash dishes. Blessing was really friendly and helpful, he loved getting campers there.if you're on a bicycle, don't ride all the way down to reception. if they know you're coming (you let them know at NP entry gate) then someone can come up to the camp and take payment. it's quite far down the hill to reception which you then have to ride back up.

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Stunning campsite and view. We had the place to ourselves. Cannot add much more to the positive reviews below besides recommend to do the guided walk with Blessing (guide and camp attendant). Note it can get cold at night. Enjoy the camp fire.

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Sorry for the double post. I forgot to mention that they no longer allow you to do hiking on your own, since there are lions in the park since recently. Water is not drinking water.

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Stunning nature in the park, stunning view, piping hot water. They made the camping spots level and if that is not level enough they provide wood for fine tuning. Great caretaker, Whyte.

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Nyika is stunning. Worth the detour from our plans to visit. We had the whole park to ourselves! Road was fair, and they were repairing some bits damaged during the rains - we were happy to visit while dry. The park was in flower! Park entry was $10 each.

Chelinda have multiple accommodation options, we camped. The others require a little notice for them. $25 pppn.

Campsite attendant was called Blessing, and he was - the staff are delightful. Fire lit for our arrival, hot water in taps was suitable even for hot water bottles (chilly up here!) and plenty of wood. Covered “huts” incase it rains. We had Zebra grazing in camp, and a baby bush buck hanging out. In the morning I sat and watched the game move up to the grasslands as it warmed, we saw more game from our camp chair than our car! There’s trout fishing in the dams, $10 a rod. A bonus is that Airtel reception at campsite was faultless.

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Now 25 pppn. I am unusually skeptical/frugal. I would still recommend a visit if you can make budget. Best to advise them over the phone that you’re on the way. The caretaker will make preparations with donkey and campfire. Wyatt the caretaker was a real highlight of our stay. No restaurant since COVID but the town is 1km for eggs pasta beer etc. We did not know how many nights we would stay in Chelinda. South Gate told us to pay on our way out, north gate told us we should have paid at South Gate. Grease the wheels I have a t with no receipt and save a boatload of money on park fees. You can thank me later. Camping is paid at campsite.

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The only camping in Nyika NP but it's lovely. Expensive at $20pppn camping plus $10pppn park fees and $3 per day car fees. Road coming here is definitely not great especially if it's rained, but it's not terrible. Took us 2.5hrs from gate to campsite. The campsite has shelters and firepits which is nice, it's hard to find a level spot for your car though. The caretaker we had was Jimmy who was lovely and the ablutions were spotless with toilet paper and soap, and piping hot water from the donkey in the morning and evening as well as in the basins and for dishes outside which was a nice change! No electricity. Beautiful views over the plateau with some animals roaming around. You can do night or day game drives for $35pp or rent mountain bikes for $15per bike for 4 hours , plus guided bush walks. It gets really cold even in summer so bring warm clothes! A really cool place in a beautiful park, would recommend coming here for a couple nights!

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Now $20 pppn plus $10 per day park entry. Half price for kids. We decided not to go as too pricey for us.

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Spent two fabulous nights here. It’s cold at night but we kept warm at the camp fire. The sunny days are great and the roan, zebra and eland roam close by. No need to drive to see them.

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Stunning place! Campsite is ok, but it area is well worth the visit. Nothing like it!
Same as described below.
But bring a warm sweater and a rai jacket! At night it’s between -2 and 10 degrees. And a rains a lot here.
Caretaker Blessing always has a fire and a hot donkey ready for you.
! The bridge with Rumphi collapsed last night ! So you might need to take another road to get here. Contact the lodge for up to date information about the road.

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This is a very special place. From the campsite you can oversee a big part of the plateau. Many animals will pass. If you want you can just sit down and watch what will happen in the valley and hills around you.

It's a long drive from Mzuzu to get here. Stay at least two nights. The road can get bumpy we did not experience any problems to get here.

From the gate to the camp is a two hour drive. The lady at the gate will call the camp. When you arrive there is probably already got water.

Blessings was our host when we stayed here. He will make sure the donkey is hot in the morning and the evening, the camp fire gets lit and that there is for for the stove.

He can tell you a lot about the surrounding, the animals and the sound you hear.

Zebras and bushbucks visited the camp when we stayed here.

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Stunning campsite in the middle of Nyika NP. 3 well maintained sites with their own shelter and picnic table. Zebras and bushbucks right in front of our tent. Matteo the caretaker was very good and made sure we had a fire in the morning and evening and the abblutions were clean and showers hot! 20 USD per person per night sounds a bit expensive, but was totally worth it as this place is just one of a kind and excellently run.

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Breathtaking views over the Nyika landscape with bushbucks and other wildlife passing by. a bit more expensive than your standard campsite but given you're in a NP that's unsurprising and it was well worth it in our opinion. the onsite staff were incredibly helpful and Whyte ensured we had hot water all day and fires all night. we organised a biking tour with guide Watson on one of the days which was great also.

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Beautiful park and nice campsite with genuinely lovely staff who really look after you however 20USD per night is a crazy price for putting up your own tent! Prices have recently gone up from 15USD

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This campground is unique. There is the nice groundkeeper „White“ who does everything to make the guests happy. The site offers a beautiful view, clean toilets and showers with hot water and a very nice fireplaces with free wood. Chelinda is the only campsite in Nyika National Park, wild camping is prohibited. Cost for camping USD 20 pp plus entrance fees for Nationalpark to pay at the gate. Several bridges on the plateau are under construction and not passable at the moment, they will be ready for Christmas

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What a great place. The Nyika plateau is really something different from anything else in Malawi. Due to the very cold nights we didn’t camp but stayed in one of the self catering cottages that are very nice as well. Campsite is good maintained with ablutions, donkey showe and a kitchen.
Price is 15 dollar pppn which is very reasonable considering the remote place.

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An absolutely beautiful place. Totally different. It is a kind of recreation of the hot Africa. For us definetly worth it to drive there. The road is a dirt road , sometimes very bumpy, like a lot in Africa, but to the campground not as bad as some mentioned. It is suitable also for big rigs like ours. But it is better not to drive from the campground to the reception with big rigs.

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15usd pppn plus park charges. We felt it's expensive for what you get (ablutions rather poor but toilet paper provided). Nice view, free fire wood and the guy starts the fire for you. Very hot water (donkey is on most of the time). Zebras and antelopes walking through the campsite. Watch out for crows trying to steal food. No matter what Tracks4Africa tells you the only way to get there is up on M9 against the Zambian border and into Chelinda. The worst road is 50km after Rumphi and then it gets better.

The park is definitely worth a visit for landscapes (bear in mind this is not a game viewing park).

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Rolling geen pastures as far as the eye can see scattered with the likes of eland, roan, bushbuck, and zebra (specifically Burchell's Zebra, an endemic subspecies). Blue mountains off in the distance and perfectly placed rocky outcrops line the valley. When the sky is blue and the clouds dancing in front, I don't think there is a better view in all of Malawi.

Chelinda camp is a great place to stay but is rather pricey at 15USD pppn on top of 10USD pp per day to be in the park. At the time of our visit the water was not functioning to the campground so we were permitted to stay in the chalets for the same price. We cooked our own meals but they do have a restaurant. Plus the place is currently run by two ex-overlanders and they sure are welcoming!

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Beautiful campground, the park scenery is utterly wonderful. Hot Showers and fires are excellent, the place has plenty of pine to burn. Small shop in park staff village. Can get packets/eggs/etc, but limited stock as per Malawi.

Campsite has three huts with benches, and large open grassy area on slight slope.

Road in is dirt with occasional quite rough parts.

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There are a couple of routes you can take here from the Thazima gate (south entrance). The easiest way is to take the M9 which goes along the western park border with Zambia and then take a right after about 45km, which is signposted to Chelinda. It took us about 1.5 hours to do the 65kms from the entrance to Chelinda, it’s a little bumpy/sandy in places but not difficult in a 4x4.

Beautiful spot, glad we went.

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What an amazing place! The road for us was not that bad; it's an African slow road! It took us 2,5 hours from the gate to the campsite. From Rumphi to the gate 2 hours. Just make sure you're not in a hurry! The plateau was beautiful. We saw zebra's, antilopes, eland, reedbuck. But also without the wildlife, the nature is stunning. We rented mountainbikes, but there is now also a lion around so a guide will come along. The views at the campsite are beautiful, always a hot shower and the people are very nice. The price is still the same. A bit expensive if you compare it to other campsites in Malawi, but for us it was definately worth it!

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Unfortunately the road to travel to this destination is unacceptable......very bad. Takes 7 hours to do 120kms! The campsite has great views....but is not level. Showers are very good and nice hot water. Friendly staff. Not much game to see.
Overall not worth it simply because of the very very bad road. The cherry on top is to pay $ 10 park fees per day.....$ 15 camp fees per day per person. PLUS taxes and car entry fees. Just not worth it.

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The most expensive campsite in our trip to Malawi 15 USD pppn + park fees, but we don't regret it at all. There's everything you need at campsite except a bar/restaurant and electricity. There's even hot water for doing dishes and bushbucks coming to your table at breakfast! :-)

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New price 2019 : 15$pp + park fees. most expensive campsite in Malawi but worth it for the surroundings and campsites. Very scenic and well organised. even hot water at the place to wash dishes. Huge bonfire. Road from Thazima gate quite good mid mai (see map in photos, only red marked roads unpassable).

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Now its 15,50 US pppn, which is expensive for Malawi. I do not think its worth, driving around 4 hours on dirt roads to come here and also have to pay the park fee 10 US pp and around 2 US for the car.

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Beautiful campsite with amazing view. The current rates: 10 USD pp and 3 USD entrance fee of the park, per day. 15 USD pppn campsite.

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We visited in rainy season and it was beautifully green. Very nice campsite (10$pp) with basic ablutions, but clean and hot donkey shower! Three shelters with picknick tables. Very friendly staff at the entrance, lodge and campsite. Highly recommended to rent mountain bikes ($15 pp for half a day), they will bring the bikes from the lodge to the campsite and you can leave them there to be picked up. Also routes available. We did not see a lot of game, but being a meter away from a roan antelope on your bike is cool enough!

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Rough road, took me 7 hours to cycle from the gate to the Campground, heavy rains don’t make it easier, the road is bad but totally doable with a 4x4. The views are stunning, lots of wildlife up on the plateau, haven‘t seen any elefants on the way up, just their leftovers. Camp is really nice, well maintained, nice hot showers, if you have a selfstanding tent you can pitch it underneeth a roof (3 of them available), they provide wood for fire and it is just really relaxed up here. I was by myself, and apperently not many people come up here during rainyseason, nevertheless, it is beautifully green! give it a try :-)

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As per other people's comments, a really amazing place! We hiked, saw a surprisingly interesting assortment of game (leopard, side-striped jackal, in addition to antelope and zebra, elephant on the way in), did some beautiful drives. A lot to see and explore here, incl fly fishing. One of our favourites!

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Great campsite with a beautiful view! Nice and clean ablutions with hot water. There is always a fire that keeps you warm. We saw many antelope passing by like eland, roan and reedbuck. There is a nice dam loop that you can drive.

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As described by others. Lovely quiet spot. No power. Hot showers and fire set by the attendant both morning and evening (it gets very cold at night!). Plenty of antelope and zebra can be viewed from/in the camp, and leopard is regularly heard in or close by camp (sometimes seen!). Tea and coffee available for free from reception (5 mins drive away).
Cost is US$10 pppn + 1% tourist tax + park fees ($10 per person and $3 per vehicle).

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very decent campsite. Simple but clean ablutions and hot water. Leaky shelters to cook and eat. Some level spots to put a tent or car. Beautiful view. Nice attendant, makes you a campfire. Very quiet place. No artificial lighting. I enjoyed it very much! I paid 10 dollar per night + 1% tourist tax.

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US$15 pp per night + 1% fee. Expensive !!

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Nice view from the camping. Basic ablution with hot water via donkey. Love the park for the geography, if you go for wild life you might be disappointed. Although we saw many different antilopes, zebras and a leopard. $10,- pppn

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Nice place with view to the rolling hills. A lots of leopards are around. So to camp close to the ablutions may be a live saving advise. Another advise may be is not to go in winter!! It's 2.300 m high

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Expensive for what it is. Basic ground, fire and wood provided. Toilets and showers basic. Only camp choice! $15 per person per night

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Nice camp site surrounded by trees on 3 sides. Fire wood provided and roofed areas for tents.

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Clean good facilites in otherwise boring park

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