Official Malawi DNPW rates
Nyika National Park entry fees
Nyika is the one park where we cannot show you a current official price list, because none is published. Below are the last verifiable figures, clearly dated, plus the numbers circulating online that you should ignore.
If you only want the answer
Honesty first: Malawi publishes no current tariff for Nyika. Budget around $10 per person per day and $3 to $15 for the vehicle as indicative figures, confirm with the park or Central African Wilderness Safaris before you go, and carry kwacha cash.
Park entry fee (per person, per day)
| International visitor | ±$10 | the most recent traceable DNPW-linked figure, undated; treat as indicative only |
|---|---|---|
| SADC / regional visitor | $7 | from a 2017–2018 Chelinda rate sheet, so probably outdated |
| Malawian citizen | MK 450 | also a 2017–2018 figure; a conflicting "$1" appears elsewhere |
| Child under 12 | Free | the one figure consistent across every source |
One warning: an approximately $75 per day entry fee circulates on at least one aggregator site. It is unsourced and inconsistent with every Malawi park benchmark; do not budget around it. For scale, African Parks' January 2024 tariff for Nkhotakota (a different Malawi park, different management) charged internationals about $20 per day.
Updated 26 July 2026
Vehicle entry (per day)
| Vehicle, by weight class | $3–15 | undated range from older schedules; confirm at the gate |
|---|---|---|
| Payment by card or mobile money | Unverified | nothing is published; carry enough cash to cover fees |
Whether fees are charged per 24 hours or per calendar day is also unpublished. Ask when you confirm your booking.
Updated 26 July 2026
Staying on the plateau (per person, per night)
| Chelinda Lodge, full board plus activities | $350–410 | CAWS 2026 rates: $350 sharing in December, $410 July to November |
|---|---|---|
| Chelinda Camp | Not published | enquire with CAWS; the camp is pitched as the mid-range option |
| Chelinda Campsite | Not published | no current rate or operator confirmed; ask CAWS or at Chelinda HQ |
| Juniper Forest campsite | Not published | referenced in trekking notes only; confirm it is operational before relying on it |
Book the Chelinda properties through Central African Wilderness Safaris: reservations@cawsmw.com or +265 888 822 398. There is no online payment portal.
Updated 26 July 2026
Activities
| Game drives, night drives, mountain biking | Via Chelinda | no individual prices are published; generally bundled into full-board lodge rates |
|---|---|---|
| Trout fishing permit | At Chelinda HQ | season September to April, fly-only with a single hook; no fee figure is published |
| Livingstonia trek (3 days, guided) | Pre-arrange | organised through Chelinda / CAWS; no standard price is published |
| Horse riding | Not running | Malawi's official tourism site confirms the old horse safari operation is not currently operating |
Several operators still advertise Nyika horse safaris in the present tense. That copy is stale: the official Malawi tourism position is that the operation is not running. Kuti Wildlife Reserve is the horseback alternative Malawi Tourism suggests.
Updated 26 July 2026
Something this page does not answer?
Fees are the one thing park authorities change without telling anyone, and some of them publish nothing at all.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.