Visit July 2025. When the nominations and evaluations for this year’s World Heritage session were published, we decided to carve out time in our itinerary for a short visit to the Mulanje Mountains in southern Malawi. On our way from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg, we managed a stopover in Blantyre and booked a place to stay—as there aren’t many accommodation options near the mountain.

No sooner had we pulled into the lodge than the World Heritage session began—and just hours later, Mulanje was officially inscribed. Talk about timing. From our lodge, we had a stunning view of the mountain range, with vivid green tea plantations spread out in the foreground.

The next day, we set off on a day hike with a local guide.

Mount Mulanje is best known for its dramatic peaks, deep forests, and rich biodiversity. But beyond its natural beauty, the mountain holds deep cultural significance. Rising steeply from the plains to 3,002 meters at Sapitwa Peak, it is considered sacred by many of the local communities living around it.

Most visitors come here to climb the mountain—it’s usually a three-day trek—but we opted for a one day hike. Interestingly, Mulanje was not inscribed for its natural features or geological value, but for cultural reasons.

For the local Lomwe people, the mountain is deeply intertwined with myths, ancestral spirits, and traditional rituals. It is seen as a dwelling place for spirits and a source of spiritual guidance and protection. Certain sites on the mountain are used for ceremonies, and oral traditions connect them to significant events, heroes, and taboos.

Our hike was a relatively easy loop, about 5 km with 250 meters of elevation gain, leading to a waterfall- Dziwe La Nkhalamba. Along the way, our guide shared stories about the spirits that are believed to protect both people and wildlife. He pointed out old ritual sites, as well as plants used in traditional medicine and spiritual protection. It was fascinating to hear how these beliefs are still alive in both the forest and the people.

For once, we weren’t alone on the trail. Aside from the spirits, the mountain was full of people—our visit happened to coincide with the annual Porters’ Race, a major event in Malawi. The race covers 25 km with 1,600 meters of elevation gain—not for the faint of heart!

Crowds of locals had made their way up the trail to cheer on their favorites and take part in the celebration. The event is such a big deal that even the Minister of Tourism was there to hand out the winner’s trophy.

Before the awards ceremony, the minister proudly announced that just the day before, the mountains had been added to the World Heritage list.

We truly enjoyed the mountains and the scenery—but understanding the cultural value behind the inscription was much more challenging without a guide. If you’re hoping to grasp the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of Mulanje’s listing, a knowledgeable guide is absolutely essential.

I'm going to put it out there right at the start of this review: the Murujuga Cultural Landscape is one of the most impressive collections of petroglyphs (rock carvings) I've ever seen. It would be justifiably world-renowned if it were located on other continents, and certainly ranks well above many of the other rock art collections already inscribed on the World Heritage List. So what is it?

The cultural landscape is centred on Murujuga National Park, part of the Burrup Peninsula in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. It's located on the traditional lands of the Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi, Yaburara, Mardudhunera, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples, collectively known as the Ngarda-Ngarli (pron "nahda nahli"). The national park is about 37,000 hectares, so it's not an extremely large area, but it's packed with an estimated one million petroglyphs. It's believed to be the densest collection of hunter-gatherer petroglyphs anywhere in the world. What's truly amazing about Murujuga is the incredible variety of petroglyphs, in both age and subject matter: the oldest petroglyphs here have been dated at around 40,000 years old, while some are as recent as the 19th century.

Petroglyphs of humans are quite common with a variety of imagery, ranging from static figures to abstract faces, hunting scenes and ceremonial activities. You can also see plenty of spiritual art telling stories of the Marrga, the ancestral beings who created the world during the Dreamtime.

But it's the imagery of animals at Murujuga that we found most striking. The sheer number of animal petroglyphs provide a fascinating showcase of how the local fauna has changed over the millennia. Carvings from 40,000 years ago show crocodiles and wallabies that are no longer found in the area. Although these days Murujuga is directly on the coast, it was 160 kilometres inland during the last Ice Age, so the carvings from that era are of distinctly inland animals like fat-tailed kangaroos. Fascinatly, there's a very clear petroglyph of a thylacine (aka Tasmanian Tiger), which has been extinct on mainland Australia for at least 20,000 years.

The most recent carvings, where Murujuga is directly on the coast, largely show marine animals like turtles, whales, and fish. And most ominously, there's a very faint carving of a single-masted sailing ship, thought to be explorer Phillip King's vessel HMC Mermaid which visited the area in 1818 - the beginning of the end for the Ngarda-Ngarli's traditional way of life.

Access & Logistics

Murujuga is pretty remote, even by Australian standards - though it's actually not that difficult to get to. The easiest but priciest option is to fly from Perth to nearby Karratha, with daily Qantas and Virgin services. A cheaper but rather slower option is to drive - it's a mere 1,500km (16 hour) drive from Perth, and along the way you'll pass "nearby" to two other World Heritage Sites: Shark Bay, and Ningaloo Coast.

National Park entry is free, and the best spot for seeing petroglyphs is at Ngajarli (Deep Gorge) with a modern boardwalk and good interpretive signs. A large part of the collection exists on the archipelago just to the north, however it's extremely different to access and requires special permissions.

We visited in July 2021, and visiting during southern hemisphere winter is strongly recommended. During summertime, the Pilbara region is one of the hottest places in Australia (temps regularly exceeding 40c), and is also prone to tropical cyclones.

Video Review

YouTube review - Murujuga National Park