Malawi's forgotten colonial capital on a plateau — jacaranda-lined avenues, a trout river, and views over the Shire Highlands
Zomba was British Nyasaland's colonial capital until 1975 when the new capital Lilongwe was built — and has been pleasantly forgetting this distinction ever since. The Zomba Plateau rises to 2,086m directly behind the town, accessible by a steep road that climbs through pine and cedar plantations planted by colonial foresters, past the Chagwa Dam and reservoir, to moorland walking tracks, trout streams, and campsites. The town below retains its colonial-era architecture — the High Court, State House, and jacaranda-shaded avenues of the old government quarter feel like a quiet English colonial…
Zomba became the administrative capital of British Central Africa Protectorate in 1891 under Harry Johnston, the first commissioner. The plateau's cool temperature — a relief from the Shire Valley heat — made it the preferred residence of colonial officials, missionaries, and settlers. The decision to move the capital to Lilongwe in 1975 was made by President Hastings Kamuzu Banda partly to develop the interior and partly as a political statement of post-colonial independence from inherited British geography. Zomba's political importance faded but its physical infrastructure remained intact.