Admiring Blata tal-Melh
They say ‘focus on the journey not the destination’ but man, don’t you find it frustrating when you set your mind to go somewhere and you just cannot bloody find the place? I do like quotes, but sometimes they just annoy me lol.
Anyway, for the second time I have tried to find the Blata tal-Melh salt pans. There are some beautiful pictures of them on the internet, but no one ever says how to get to them! I have tried to get there one way – kept on ending up at someone’s private property. This week I tried my luck again from a different direction, but still didn’t manage – was nearly there but had to jump over a cliff and didn’t feel very comfortable doing it. (If anyone knows how to get there, please leave me a comment with the directions, thanks!).
However, it wasn’t all just wasted time. I came across some beautiful sites and as you can see I was pretty happy about it!
The views are amazing! Maltese coastline is just impressive. What sea water is able to make out of the Maltese limestone is pretty awesome! Miracles!
Quite often, when out and about on my adventures, I have to jump, run, slide or climb a bit to get to my desire location. I tried it again, but this time it was higher than I thought and being on the edge of a precipice I didn’t risk it and found an alternative way around it. (Yes, I am very determined!)
If you have enough time, just sit down and enjoy the view, maybe not right at the edge as I did to take the picture, but allow some time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
I just love the limestone cliffs with the rocks and stones of all the shape and sizes dotted all around. Also, don’t forget to look back every so often.
I also think this would be a great place for a photoshoot with a difference! Might be a bit of a hassle to get all the stuff here, but I’m sure it would be worth it!
As I was saying above, sometimes I got to climb to places and this is definitely not an exception. I should have been more prepared and wear protective gloves as I did burn my fingers a bit. But worth the pain!
And this is the point where I got stuck. The salt pans I have been looking for are just behind the corner, but I was here by myself and I would have to jump to the other side and I just didn’t feel safe so I turned around and started my way back to the car. What a shame though, don’t you think? I was so close! But I guess better safe than sorry (or dead).
Few final tips:
– I parked at about 6pm, 5pm would have been better – more time to explore before sunset.
– Wouldn’t recommend morning, you want to be here for the late afternoon sun / sunset.
– Wear comfortable clothing and good hiking/sport shoes.
– Come with someone, some parts are a bit dangerous so better in two.
– The entire walk took me about 1h 30 mins without long breaks.
I hope I got you a bit inspired and maybe sorted out your plans for the upcoming weekend. Here is a map with the exact location. This is where I parked my car. Also including a map with the exact route.
Just had a very similar experience this week, from the difficulty of finding the place to giving up in the approximately same area you did 🙂 Now i’m thinking about coming from the opposite direction, Mtahleb/Migra Ferha… i’ll try it soon.
Anyway, very useful blog, i’ve just discovered it and already learned about some places i knew nothing about (and i realise now that i’ve actually seen very little of Malta), very good ideas for future explorations 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Borgan!
Thank you very much for sparing a moment a leaving a lovely comment. 🙂 I’ve tried it from the other direction too, but somehow I always ended up in someone else’s private property so I had to turn around. I’m sure there is a way, I just haven’t found it yet…
Thanks again for the encouraging comment and that you enjoy my blogs. This means that what I do makes some sense and gives me great satisfaction! 🙂 Thank you!
Tried it in the meantime; i can confirm that it works 😉 So: from Migra Ferha, on the coast, to Blata tal-Melh, approximately 1 hour (i actually started from Ras id-Dawwara, long story :)) ). It is basically the exact same route this guy went: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q4wLqkDPN4 (until 2:03, when, just as in the previous week, i had to bail out in the same place… just from the opposite side. This time that place where you had to jump was even riskier, on Monday night it was rainy and the sea was pretty wild – at least i got some nice pics 🙂 ) His video may appear a bit scary, but it’s just the effect of speeding it up. The path was quite safe in my opinion (and you can always turn around, of course).
Also, i’ve seen people driving to Migra Ferha (i even saw a taxi getting a couple there), so i think it’s doable. Good luck, if you’re ever tempted!
Thanks Bogdan! I was just thinking that the path looks too much on the edge to my liking lol! I would love to try it for sure, but maybe in this case I won’t go alone, as I mostly do, just to be safe! Thank you very much for stopping by and sharing this alternative route with me! Will definitely give it a go! Tina x