page_title: Mulanje Massif
section_title: Climate
hierarchical_section_title: Mulanje Massif / Climate
caption_attribution_description: English: Western side of Mulanje Mountain in Sunset, seen from Likubula Falls
context_page_description: The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi only 65 km east of Blantyre, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Phalombe, and the tea-growing Mulanje district. It measures approximately 13x16 miles and has a maximum elevation of 3,002 m at its highest point, Sapitwa Peak.
  Much of the Massif consists of rolling grassland at elevations of 1800–2200 m, intersected by deep forested ravines. It has many individual peaks reaching heights of over 2500 m, including Chambe Peak, the West Face of which is the longest rock climb in Africa.
  The Massif was formed by the intrusion of magma into the Earth's crust about 130 million years ago. The surrounding rock eroded away over time, leaving behind the erosion-resistant igneous rock of the Mulanje Massif. The first European to report seeing the Massif was David Livingstone in 1859, but archeological investigation reveals evidence of human visits to the Massif from the Stone Age onwards.
context_section_description: The climate of the larger Mulanje area is strongly influenced by the equatorial low pressure area, where the north-east trades of the Northern Hemisphere converge with the south-east trades of the Southern Hemisphere. This area is known as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). On satellite Images the ITCZ is mostly seen as a long band of clouds in the Equatorial region, the main effect of the ITCZ is the creation of dry and rainy seasons in the Equatorial area.
  The Mulanje Massif, because its unique position as a “mountain island” rising more than 2,500 metres above the surrounding plains is strongly affected by the ITCZ, acting as a rain barrier. This becomes very visible when comparing the annual normal rainfalls, on and around the massif. The plateau level, at around 2,000 metres above sea level, annually experiences more than 2500 mm (100 inches) of rain, however, in the low plains around the foot of the Massif, the annual rainfalls, range around 40 inches. In the plains around the Mountain, it normally only rains in the rainy season, while it rains year round on the plateau level.
  There are still differences in the amounts of rain around the Massif. The south-west face of the mountain around Likhubula, Lichenya and Mulanje Boma is the windward side. This experiences the highest amounts of rain due to the south-east trades of the southern hemisphere that drive the moist air from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Mulanje region. The north-west face of the Massif experiences lesser rains, due to a rain-shadow effect.
  The months of the dry season (May–August) are the coolest months of the year and most suitable for hiking in the massif. The wet season (November–April) is not recommended for hiking in the Massif, as the hiker faces heavy rains on the plateau and high temperatures during the ascent.
  Snow is a very rare event. Brief snowfalls are possible but the last major snowfall with ground accumulation was in June 1954.
caption: Western side of Mulanje Mountain in Sunset, seen from Likhubula Falls
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