# STA Matola Traditional authority, Balaka District – Villages > Source: https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/sta-matola/ Traditional authority · Balaka District # STA Matola STA Matola is a traditional authority area of Malawi in Balaka District, Southern Region. It covers **72.4 km²**. 7 named villages and localities are recorded here. - 72.4km² - 627 mtypical elevation ## Where is STA Matola? STA Matola lies in [Balaka District](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/), [Southern Region](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/), [Malawi](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/). It borders 7 other traditional authorities: [Balaka Town](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/balaka-town/), [STA Kachenga](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/sta-kachenga/), [STA Mkutumula](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/central/ntcheu/sta-mkutumula/), [STA Toleza](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/sta-toleza/), [TA Makwangwala](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/central/ntcheu/ta-makwangwala/), [TA Msamala](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/ta-msamala/) and [TA Sawali](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/ta-sawali/). By area it is the 255th largest of 433 traditional authorities in Malawi. It covers 3.4% of [Balaka District](https://wherepedia.org/malawi/southern/balaka/). The centre of STA Matola is about 163 km in a straight line from Lilongwe, the capital. It is about 7.2 km from Balaka, the main town of Balaka District. The centre point is at -14.9156° N, 34.9453° E. Source: [National Statistics Office of Malawi via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-mwi). ## Villages and localities in STA Matola Open gazetteers list **7 villages, towns and localities** in STA Matola. Settlements here lie between about 603 m and 694 m above sea level (median 627 m). - Chiladzulo - Kalowe - Kanyumbaka - Kwisa - Malula - Matola - Nsunguliza Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). ## Landscape and landmarks of STA Matola Named natural and historic features inside STA Matola, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 3 rivers and streams. - Kalambo - Ncenga - Nkhwinimba Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/). Places of worship are not listed. Elevations are from the GeoNames terrain model and are approximate. ## Weather in STA Matola and the best time to visit Using the climate of Balaka District, the warmest month is Nov (average 27 °C) and the coolest is Jul (18 °C). About 1,158 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Jan (330 mm) and the driest Aug (6 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **April to November**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 24 330 Feb 23 223 Mar 23 173 Apr 21 52 May 20 13 Jun 18 9 Jul 18 16 Aug 21 6 Sep 24 8 Oct 27 17 Nov 27 74 Dec 25 237 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Nearest hospital, bank and fuel from STA Matola Need Nearest mapped Distance Hospital Balaka District Hospital · Balaka Town 7.6 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.98420&mlon=34.94963#map=17/-14.98420/34.94963) Bank Standard Bank · Balaka Town 7.3 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.98054&mlon=34.95605#map=17/-14.98054/34.95605) Petrol pump Petroda · TA Msamala 7.2 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.95739&mlon=34.89412#map=17/-14.95739/34.89412) Hotel Aja Lodge · TA Msamala 7.6 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.98288&mlon=34.93475#map=17/-14.98288/34.93475) Mall chapola trading centre · TA Chimwala 34 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.73257&mlon=35.19734#map=17/-14.73257/35.19734) School St. Louis Community Day Seco. School · Balaka Town 7.8 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.98550&mlon=34.94576#map=17/-14.98550/34.94576) College ANDIAMO EDUCATION INSTITUTE (Technical College) · TA Msamala 9.9 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-15.00444&mlon=34.94996#map=17/-15.00444/34.94996) Police station Balaka Police Station · Balaka Town 8.5 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=-14.99078&mlon=34.96022#map=17/-14.99078/34.96022) Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). Straight-line distance from the centre of the division, within 40 km. ## Other traditional authorities in Balaka District - Balaka Town - Liwonde Town - STA Kachenga - STA Phalula - STA Toleza - TA Amidu - TA Chanthunya - TA Kalembo - TA Msamala - TA Nkaya - TA Sawali ## Quick answers - Where is STA Matola?In Balaka District, Southern Region, Malawi - What borders STA Matola?Balaka Town, STA Kachenga, STA Mkutumula, STA Toleza, TA Makwangwala, TA Msamala and TA Sawali - How many villages are in STA Matola?7 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of STA Matola?Settlements lie between 603 m and 694 m - What is the best time to visit STA Matola?April to November - Where is the nearest hospital to STA Matola?Balaka District Hospital, about 7.6 km from the centre - Where is the nearest bank to STA Matola?Standard Bank, about 7.3 km from the centre - Where is the nearest petrol pump to STA Matola?Petroda, about 7.2 km from the centre - What is the P-code of STA Matola?MW31209 (OCHA common operational dataset)