The Megalithic Temples of Malta

Malta holds some of the most remarkable prehistoric monuments in the world, a group of UNESCO megalithic temples that are among the oldest free-standing structures on earth, predating Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids by centuries. Built by a mysterious Neolithic culture over five thousand years ago from enormous stone blocks, the temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra on Malta, dramatically sited by the sea, and Ġgantija on Gozo, along with the underground Hypogeum, are an astonishing and enigmatic testament to a lost people.

What you actually see

• Hagar Qim and Mnajdra - the clifftop temples above the sea.
• Ggantija - the great temples on the island of Gozo.
• The Hypogeum - the astonishing underground burial temple (book far ahead).
• The ancient stones - the enormous megalithic blocks and carvings.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the mildest weather at the exposed clifftop sites; the temples are open year-round. The remarkable underground Hypogeum has a strict daily visitor limit and must be booked weeks or months in advance, so plan ahead if you want to see it.

Honest expectations

The famous underground Hypogeum has a very strict daily visitor cap to preserve it, so it books out weeks or months ahead; the above-ground temples are easier to visit. The temples are ancient and eroded, so they take some imagination, and the clifftop ones are exposed to sun and wind. Their extraordinary age, older than the pyramids, is the astonishing draw.

Nearby

The Blue Grotto, the coast and the rest of the small island are close.