This is a must for mountain biking enthusiasts, mixing challenging terrain with the beauty of nature and safari game drives.

Day 1: Luwawa Forest Lodge
Arrive at Lilongwe-Meet with guides and vehicles and travel north for 3 hours into the Viphya Mountains of Central Malawi to Luwawa Forest Lodge. The lodge is surrounded by pine plantation but with some great indigenous forest nearby and depending on time of arrival there may be time for a mountain walk, a sail on the nearby dam, kayaking, fishing and biking around the lodge. Accommodation tonight: En suite chalets - Orientation talk for the bike ride to Chintheche.

Riding today: Maybe time for a short evening ride of an hour around Luwawa Dam.

Day 2 : Kasito Lodge Chikangawa
Through the Viphya forests on a combination of walking paths and forestry roads to Chikangawa and overnight at Kasito Lodge-comfortable non en suite accommodation.

Riding today: About 8 hours. Good track but tough with lots of climbing.

Day 3: Kawalazi Tea Estate
Continue north into areas where tourists are very seldom seen, through indigenous forest, and small holder farms eventually entering the Kawalazi Estates -this estate is a large commercial enterprise but is stunningly beautiful with rolling hills of tea, many stream and large areas of thick forest. Camp in the grounds of the estates clubhouse.

Riding today: About 8 hours riding-good tracks but tough with lots of climbing.

Day 4: Chintheche Inn Northern Lakeshore
A challenging morning ride over some steep mountain ridges and through some beautiful forest. The last 30 odd kilometres are on tarmac and we expect most people will want to cover this by vehicle. Afternoon atleisure swimming. Chintheche is a great, atmospheric 26 bedded hotel on an immaculate sandy beach on the most attractive part of the lake -great en suite rooms all facing the beach.

Riding today: 6-8 hours. Starts hard with lots of climbing-last couple of hours on the flat.

Day 5: Chintheche Inn
A number of options today, all included in the tariff-these include snorkelling trips to nearby island, bird watching, fishing village visits, mountain bike trips into the surrounding villages, windsurfing. Available at an extra charge are motorised watersports-water skiing, wake snake, tubing.

Riding today: Optional.

Day 6: Lake Kazuni Camp Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve
Today we will probably choose to go by vehicle for the first 3 hours or so and then do the last 30 odd kilometres to the reserve along an attractive rural road.Vwaza is an interesting low lying game reserve which hosts a variety of game including elephant, buffalo, puku, kudu, impala and lion and a great variety of birds. Lake Kazuni Camp offers simple grass huts with shared facilities.

Evening game drive

Riding today: 3-5 hours.

Day 7: Chelinda Camp Nyika National Park
The journey today is initially through rural villages before we enter the Nyika National Park and start cycling towards Chelinda. This is a fascinating day with lots of climbing and great variety-starting with game then through rural villages and eventually climbing through the forests of the lower Nyika to reach the magnificent montane grasslands.

Riding today: About 6 hours.

Nyika National Park in the far north of Malawi's is scenically the regions’ most spectacular wild area and it with good reason that we have chosen a full 3 nights here. It boasts an incredible mixture of scenery and landscapes - pristine brachystegia woodland, mature montane forest patches, crystal clear running streams and miles and miles of open rolling grassland. Being situated at a mean height of over 2,000 metres guarantees a permanently temperate climate which is of particular contrast to the lakeshore areas of Malawi.

Game that can be spotted includes Burchell’s Zebra, Roan antelope, Common reedbuck, Eland, Bushbuck, Warthog, leopard, hyena, side-striped jackal and serval. Birdlife is prolific, and 'specials' include Churring and Mountain cisticolas, Red-tufted malachite sunbird, Fulleborn’s black bou-bou, Bar-tailed trogon, Mountain nightjar and several species of Bulbul which occur deep in the canopy of the forests.

There are many activities available - traditional game drives, night drives, all day drives, walks, mountain biking, fishing and horseriding.

Chelinda Camp is situated in the centre of the Nyika Plateau’s high grasslands. It consists of comfortable rooms or chalets with shared bathroom facilities. The accommodation is built around a dam and surrounded on 3 sides by Chelinda Pine Plantation.

The climate is always cool due to the altitude and nighttime temperatures particularly in the winter months can be very chilly.

Days 8 and 9: Chelinda Camp
There are a number of riding options here, ranging from full day rides up to the dramatic viewpoints in the north of the park to shorter rides on the game drive loops nearer Chelinda.

For those wanting to game drive instead this can also be arranged.

Riding on these days: Optional up to 10 hours.

Day 10: Lukwe Permaculture Camp Livingstonia
We retrace our steps to Rumphi and then take a ride along the Rukuru River up to the old Missionary settlement of Livingstonia. Situated on a flat mountain top over 5000 feet above Lake Malawi the Mission has a great old world charm. The permaculture camp is basic but comfortable and situated in a forest with wonderful mountain scenery. Some may camp and others will be accommodated in simple wooden chalets.

Riding today: About 6 hours.

Day 11: Lukwe Permaculture Camp
There are many great little rides in the area and some good forest to explore, including the impressive waterfalls at nearby Manchewe. A ride to the nearby Mission station is a must.

Riding today :Optional Riding.

Day 12: Luwawa Forest Lodge
The first ride today is down the dramatically steep escarpment to Lake Malawi before boarding the vehicles for a stretch. Near to Luwawa we leave the road and start riding again along little known forest tracks towards Luwawa.

Riding today: About 5 hours.

Day 13 Depart
It is a 3 hour drive from Luwawa to Lilongwe Airport.