Phalombe is a town approx. 40 km northeast of Mulanje

Mulanje

Mulanje is a town in the Southern Region of Malawi close to the border of Mozambique. It is near the Mulanje Massif.Mulanje is the headquarters of the conservation group, the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust....

 in southern Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

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It is situated below the Fort Lister Gap between the two larger parts of the Mulanje Massif. Due to this location it is vulnerable for flash floods, which can easily occur during the rainy season. The most devastating one in recent history occurred in 1991, which left Phalombe with a 2-3 m high mud layer and killed hundreds of people. On this spot a monument was erected to remember the named and unnamed victims. Five km from the village is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

mission consisting of a Catholic church and the Holy Family Hospital. The hospital is run by locals in association with the Dutch charity Memisa and is staffed by local clinical officers as well as Dutch tropical doctors. A large nursing school is attached to the hospital.

The road from Mulanje to Phalombe is currently being upgraded and surfaced.