The shores of the lake are generally sandy and the resort areas are largely bilharzia free. There are no tides or currents. Most of the hotels provide pleasure craft enabling visitors to enjoy water-skiing, sailing, fishing, snorkelling and windsurfing. Some of the rarest tropical fish in the world are unique to the lake, which is also the home of fish eagles, black eagles, several varieties of kingfishers, terns and many other birds. Likoma Island , near the Mozambique lakeshore, is worth a visit - there is excellent swimming off the beaches and a very interesting Anglican Cathedral .
Accommodation is limited.
Cape Maclear , near Monkey Bay, has a beautiful sandy beach and is in the Lake Malawi National Park , the world's first freshwater reserve. It is here that the fish-rich lake is seen at its best. The only top-class accommodation is at the new island camps utilised during kayaking safaris. There is plenty of mid-range and budget lodges and there are plans for a hotel. Nkhotakota, on the central lake shore, is one of Africa's oldest market towns and was once a centre of the slave trade.