Top 10 walks in Malta & Gozo

The spring is officially here yaaay! Well, I have to say the weather has been pretty good to us the last couple of weeks and the countryside is just so beautifully green and blooming. I personally think that spring is the best time to visit Malta (unless you really want to swim and sunbath), or if you live here, go out and really explore this Mediterranean island. So I thought it would be a good idea and you could find helpful couple of tips of where to go for a nice walk / trek at this time of the year.

Here is my list of Top 10 walks in Malta & Gozo (not in a particular order):

1) Valley of Honey

Wied il-Ghasel in Maltese, Valley of Honey in English is a great choice for a winter/spring walk. This gorgeous valley not only offers a beautiful walk surrounded by nature and an absolute peace and quiet, but you can also visit the chapel of St Paul the Hermit.

2) Chadwick Lakes & Il-Qolla

Il-Qolla is one of many places that I’ve discovered by mistake. I originally went to check out the Chadwick Lakes (where I also parked my car), but I kept following the road until I saw couple of huge stones on top of a hill, having no idea what they are, and just decided to walk up and see for myself. The path is not that steep and once you reach the top, you will have stunning 360 degrees views of surrounding areas.

3) Qarraba Peninsula at Ghajn Tuffieha

I’m sure that the majority of you, if you’ve been to Malta already, made it to Golden Bay or the neighboring beach Ghajn Tuffieha, also known as the Riviera Beach, but how many of you have actually passed that beach and checked out the peninsula just next to it? It might be a bit of a tricky hike, but you can actually walk all the way around it! Getting some gorgeous views of the Golden Bay Resort, Ghajn Tuffieha or Gnejna Bay. Check out my blog dedicated to this walk by clicking on the hyperlinked title.

4) Xemxija Heritage Trail

It depends how much time you have on your hands and how much you want to explore, but this walk can take from 1 – 3 hours. And what can you expect to see? The trail consists of 20 sites of archaeological importance including a Roman road, a menhir (standing stone), ancient apiaries, a thousand years old carob tree, a Neolithic temple, a farmer’s hut, a granary/well, Roman baths and much more! You can see more photos on my blog dedicated to this historic site.

5) Mellieha’s Rocky Seashore Walk

I think one of the best adventures are the unplanned one. I discovered this area when I wanted to visit the Red Tower in Mellieha, but I was too early so I thought I could just walk around to kill time and I’m glad I did! I didn’t have any time limit so I just kept on walking until I reached the seashore, which is perfectly flat, with some gigantic rocks spread around. The area looks absolutely awesome! Plus it’s soooo quiet… When I was walking around there was no one but couple of fishermen.

6) Walk around Marsascala

I don’t really have a particular strategy on how to explore the Maltese islands. Sometimes I get lost, sometimes I visit places other people recommend and other times I have a look on Google Maps and purposely go to a particular area, which was a case of my visit to Marsascala. What got my attention on the Google Earth Map was something looking like a tiny ‘window’, just like the Azure Window, but a mini version. So I had to check it in person. And I found it! What I also found were some out-of-this-world cliffs. You got to check this place out!

7) Fomm ir-Rih

Quite a distant place, reachable by car from Bahrija, but worth the drive. The views are stunning the moment you get off the car, you don’t even have to walk anywhere for the above view. However, it gets better! I would recommend a good footwear as the path is uneven and you might be climbing small rocks at times, depending on how adventures you are. If you go there later on in the year, it was June when I visited, which was too hot for this kind of a trek I think, but if you do, there is a pebble beach where you can easily access the sea and have a refreshing swim.

8) Blata tal Melh

This trek would be the most challenging from them all, but probably the most rewarding one. It’s very close to Fomm ir-Rih, so if you have a whole day to explore, you can manage both of these sites. This one however has much more walking and it’s pretty challenging (and dangerous) at times. Even though I went by myself, as I didn’t know what to expect and once I start I don’t want to give up, I would strongly recommend you go with someone or in a small group so you can help each other. Read my full blog to find out how to get there and if you thinking of an original personal photo shoot, this would be the best location ever!

9) Salvatur Hill

This list wouldn’t be complete without some suggestions from Malta’s sister island Gozo. I would like to show you the Statue of the Risen Christ, which is located on the top of Tas-Salvatur hill. Yes, this might not be Rio de Janero, but it’s still pretty cool! The statue is 6-metre hight and its arms stretch 6 metres wide. Five times smaller than the one in Rio de Janeiro, but hey Gozo is not as big as Brazil either. 🙂 I would say that this hike is of medium difficulty and if you want to get where I’m sitting, there is a little bit of climbing required at the end to get on the pedestal. And let’s not forget the amazing views!

10) Salinas in Xwejni & Wied il-Ghasri

Salinas (above) and Wied il-Ghasri (below) are a must-see places when visiting Gozo. There are pretty close to each other, so you can start walking from the Salinas in Xwejni, follow the coast and you will end up at Wied il-Ghasri. These walks can be done together or as two separate trips, entirely up to you. As you can read in my blog, some of the salinas are functioning until today and people still harvest salt in the old original way. Wied il-Ghasri is very picturesque area, with stunning cliffs and a small pebble beach at the end of the bay, reachable by approx. 100 steps.

I hope you got some inspiration and already planning your next walk. 🙂 Let me know if you found this list useful and if you actually visited one of the recommended places and how you liked it. Thank you! 🙂