Join us in Africa’s Gravel and MTB Cycling Paradise – Explore Malawi on a unique cycling tour, in April 2025, at the best time of the year!
iCycle is a professional cycle tour operator specialising in Malawi, – “The Warm Heart of Africa.” iCycle is led by James Parkin, a veteran of exploring thousands of kilometres of cycling routes in Malawi. His passion for Malawi is catchy and his ability to find the best routes legendary. Along with his wife, Natalie, they love welcoming cyclists to Malawi, and they ensure that everyone has a fantastic tour. iCycle offers a limited number of fully supported, small group tours, taking in the best gravel routes, scenery, and accommodation that Malawi has to offer. All tours are presented in April each year, which is the best time of year to visit Malawi. If you have already done a multi-day MTB/Gravel stage race, and you are looking for something new and exciting, Malawi is for you.
Our gravel routes are perfect for mountain or gravel bikes and are held on village and pedestrian tracks, free of corrugation and vehicles. Winding routes through villages and small-scale farms are safe to ride and offer cyclists a glimpse into real African life. There are no fences and no gates, just hundreds of kilometres of gravel cycling paradise, and many friendly Malawian locals to welcome you wherever you go.
Our April 2025 tours still have limited availability. Two of our tours are point to point tours, starting in Lilongwe – Malawi’s capital, and routing via Lake Malawi to the southern city of Blantyre.
The first Lake tour – The Tour of the Southern Lake from 29 March to 4 April offers four cycling days and one rest day at Malawi’s premier Five Star Lake Resort – Makakola Retreat. Daily distances vary with a total of 500km’s covered over four days of cycling.
Our second Lake Tour – The Best of Malawi, The Easter Tour ends over the Easter Weekend. This tour is offered over nine days in Malawi, and with weekends and public holidays included, participants need to take only four days off work. On this tour the riding days are increased, and in addition to Makakola Retreat, Cape Maclear, described as one of the finest sites in Africa, is included. Five cycling days, two rest days at the Lakes premier resorts and two travel days – a wonderful Easter Holiday. On this tour our total distance is 600km’s over five days.
Our final tour The Southern Loop is a circular route starting and ending in Blantyre. Southern Malawi is hillier than our Lake Tours and offers the stronger cyclist a challenging but achievable experience. Our route takes us from Blantyre to the Zomba Plateau, and onto the Mulanje Massif before reaching the Lower Shire River basin – all iconic landmarks well worth visiting. This tour covers 470km’s of scenic riding, ridden over five days, starting on 25 April to 1 May. This includes a weekend and two South African Public Holidays, which limits the amount of annual leave needed.
Tours are led by James who brings up the rear ensures nobody gets lost! Often the tour group does split with the faster riders free to ride ahead following the GPX track. All tours are fully inclusive packages from the time you land in Malawi to the time you depart, including all accommodation, meals, support vehicle and backup crew, GPX route files, refreshments on each days ride, a Malawi SIM card with Data loaded, and a unique good quality cycling top as a memento. Tour packages vary between R24 000 and R32 500 per person sharing, depending on the length of the Tour.
Learn More
To discuss the best tour option for you, please contact James Parkin on +27 (0) 82 561 5811 or james@icycle.co.za.
Website: icycle.co.za
References from previous riders include:
“Cycling Malawi and celebrating birthdays, absolutely incredible cycle tour organised by James and Natalie Parkin, unexpectedly exquisite places everywhere.” Ali Barker (Johannesburg)
“Malawi Cycle Tour! What a stunning experience! We cycled through Malawi in remote areas over 6 days. We loved it. The scenery, the people, the company! Huge admiration for James and Natalie Parkin (and Mr. Boniface) who put this tour together. Highly recommend this to all our mountain bike friends.” Kerry Davis (Johannesburg)
“Some of the best riding you will ever do on this planet! Thoughtfully planned, tested and tweaked GPS guided routes that flow and link together taking one to places very few people will ever see, ending each day in amazing facilities that only local knowledge could procure….superb organisation that ensures one can switch off, just ride and enjoy this unique experience in a special part of Africa.”Dr eRni Welsh (Johannesburg)
“The routes you chose are tailored to provide a challenge at times but with the reward of spectacular scenery and seldom seen vistas. As a cyclist your concern for safety and backup is a real comfort. I look forward to more of your unique cycling tours.” Rory Attridge – Johannesburg
