An activity for everyone: hiking in Malta. With friends or family, with your children, take advantage of your vacations in the Maltese archipelago to hike in Malta: the best way to discover the beauty of exceptional natural sites and to learn about the history of Malta as you walk. Today, we take you on the paths of the Dwejra Lines…
Hiking at the “Dwejra Lines
Dwejra Lines is the southern part of a succession of hills twelve kilometers long that cross Malta from the north coast and divide the island geologically into two parts. On this section: ridges and valleys are profiled on approximately 3, 5km with an exceptional panorama because you are at 200 meters of altitude: a view plunging on the Maltese countryside, the north-western part of Malta and by clear weather until Gozo.
The historical interest of the “Dwejra Lines” hike
The natural caves were used as dwellings during the Bronze Age and the relief as a natural defense line during the Punic wars (between the Carthaginians and the Romans around 200 BC). A few tombs and fragments of Roman pottery have also been uncovered by farmers in the fields in the Bingemma Valley.
As early as 1722, the Knights erected towers for military purposes to counter a possible enemy invasion. The militarization of the Dwejra Lines continued in the 19ᵉ with the British Army (arriving in 1800) fortifying the hill in a more robust manner with bridges, stone passages and monitoring stations. The walls of Dwejra Lines were completed in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. The last military exercise took place there in 1900.
At the end of your walk, you will reach the Chapel of Our Lady of Itria, open every Sunday morning and the last weekend of October. Originally built in 1600, it was rebuilt with the same stones and in the same location in 1698 by Baron Stanislaw Xara on the edge of a rock face. Overlooking the Bingemma Valley, its esplanade offers a splendid and picturesque view of Malta.
Practical information for the hike “Dwejra Lines
-The route of the hike: Hiking in Malta at the Dwejra Lines
-Getting to the Dwejra Lines
- On foot: 2.5 km from the village of Mgarr: 30 minutes walking route
- By bus: Dwejra stop on line 225 then continue on foot (2,5km) by the road in front of the bus stop line 225
- By car: see the itinerary from Mosta to the Chapel of Our Lady of Itria on: road
+ The advantages of this hike in Malta
♥ The calm and beauty of the site
♥ A simple route: a wonderful place for a family outing: we did this walk (6 km round trip) with two 6 year olds without any particular difficulty.
– Minuses of this tour in Malta
- The historical information panels are insufficient.
- Around the “picnic” areas: the lack of garbage cans with rubbish not very pretty in the landscape.
Advice: Go there during the week to have a quiet picnic in the shade (very busy on Sundays in the spring) and take a bag for your waste.
The best season is from the end of September to May: For the green vegetation and a mosaic of wild flowers, birds and pleasant temperatures for hiking in Malta.
