Many of the sights and natural wonders on Malta and Gozo are classified or at least nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (10 in total). Those who spend a few days in Valletta—Malta's capital—after the 6-day long-distance hike can experience and visit 9 of the 10 World Heritage sites on Malta and Gozo: ...
In Malta and Gozo, you'll repeatedly come across signs prohibiting entry onto agricultural land or the paths and trails running through it. Whether these signs were posted legitimately or merely serve as a deterrent is apparently not always entirely clear in Malta. On the long-distance hike presented here, you'll also be confronted with this question, and at least two places you'll have to ignore signs prohibiting entry, some of which are quite weathered. However, this only applies to places on the hike where: the...
Malta and Gozo are home to many filming locations from the popular TV series "Game of Thrones." The Maltese capital, Valletta, in particular, which served as the backdrop for "King's Landing," has since experienced a veritable tourism boom. Andrea David of filmtourismus.de has compiled a well-done side-by-side comparison of some of the filming locations. Game of Thrones fans vacationing in Malta and Gozo should definitely check it out: www.filmtourismus.de/game-of-thrones-malta/. Our long-distance hike also passes many of the filming locations in Malta and Gozo:...
Malta has a fairly well-developed bus network, covering the entire island. Almost every village in Malta is served by at least one bus line connecting it to the capital, Valletta. Even in remote areas, buses run at least once an hour until around 21:00 PM. This also applies to Gozo, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. An overview of all bus lines as of September 2020 can be downloaded (unofficially) here: https://malta.busatlas.uk/maps/MPT_map_2020.jpg. This overview may be somewhat outdated,...
Limestone has been used as a building material in Malta and Gozo for centuries. This applies equally to churches and cathedrals as well as private homes. Even today, limestone is still the preferred material for new buildings. This is why many towns on Malta and Gozo appear to be "cast from a single piece." The limestone is mined in huge quarries, milled into blocks on site, and transported away by truck. In a disused quarry in Malta, there is even an open-air museum dedicated to limestone...
The route information for the long-distance hike on Malta and Gozo is available as a free download in GPX format. A PDF hiking map for self-printing in A4 format is also available:...
The long-distance hike runs roughly equally between Malta and Gozo and is divided into 6 stages. A total of at least 8 days should be planned for your stay in Malta and Gozo, but preferably between 10 and 14 days: 1 day for arrival; 6 days for hiking; 1 day for sightseeing in Victoria (the island's capital, Gozo); 1 to 3 days for Valletta (the island's capital, Malta). Other day hikes in Malta, e.g., a hike along the Victoria Lines. Those who don't feel like a long-distance hike can also hike the entire route in sections from a...
There are several options for overnight accommodation on the day of arrival: The most obvious is an overnight stay in one of the villages in the immediate vicinity of the airport. This option has the appeal of allowing you to start walking immediately after arrival without a further bus transfer. Kirkop, for example, is ideal for this: a small village in the center of the island, which can be reached from the airport by crossing the tunnel under the runway. In Kirkop, I tried the Hotel Piazza Suites, a completely redesigned...
Distance: 19,8km Ascent/Descent: 501m/390m Duration: 07:15h Elevation chart: see map (click on the button below right) The first stage of our long-distance hike on Malta and Gozo is very diverse, passing three different UNESCO World Heritage-nominated sites: The cliff coasts of Malta, which have been on the Maltese UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998 and will accompany us on almost every stage of the hike. Of particular note on Stage 1 are the so-called "Dingli Cliffs," the highest cliffs in Malta. The more than 5.000-year-old...
In Mdina – the former capital of Malta – you feel like you're back in the Middle Ages. Exploring Mdina is especially worthwhile in the evenings or in the mornings, when no day trippers have yet wandered into the old town, surrounded by its massive city walls. Those with the necessary cash can even spend the night within the city walls (link: Hotel The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux). However, most accommodations are located outside the city walls and are therefore officially in Rabat, the much larger twin city of...
