Mangochi is a district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mangochi. The district covers an area of 6,273 km.² and has a population of 610,239. The Mangochi District is a real hub of commerce. It is a transit point, with roads leading to all areas of Malawi and Mozambique to the east. In fact, the border is not far once you cross the Shire River. To the north, the road bifurcates into the Salima or Monkey Bay roads. To the west, is the hilly region of Dedza. Travelling south, the road climbs up the Machinga escarpment to Zomba and from there the old capital Blantyre (named after David Livingstone's home town near Glasgow). It is fiercly hot in summer and ambient in summer. It is on the flood-plain for Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyassa). The lake is the 3rd largest & most Southerly lake in the Rift Valley lake system (the others being Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika). The lake is unofficially known as The Lake of Stars. The lake was named by David Livingston as he discovered it on September 18, 1859, for the effect of the reflection of the sun on the water's surface. It is also known as the Calender Lake as it is approx 365 miles long and 52 wide.
While a beautiful area, the Mangochi area has been decimated by Africa's nemisis-AIDS. Couple that with poverty, climate change and a severe lack of infrastructure and the scenario is desperate. h


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