Balaka is a township in Southern Region, Malawi and headquarters for the Balaka District. The township was formerly a boma of Machinga District, before the Balaka District was created in 1998. A growing commercial centre on the road from Zomba to Lilongwe, as well as on a Blantyre–Salima rail route. The immediate trading centres that surround Balaka are Ntcheu, Phalula, Liwonde and Ulongwe. The town is situated roughly 130 kilometres North of Blantyre and about 200 kilometres South of Lilongwe.