Mnajdra Temples

Mnajdra sits on a shelf above the sea a few hundred metres downhill from Ħaġar Qim, three temples built between about 3600 and 2500 BC and connected by a forecourt. The southern one is the reason it is famous: at the equinoxes the rising sun shines straight down its main corridor, and at the solstices it strikes the edges of the megaliths flanking the entrance, which is among the clearest prehistoric solar alignments known anywhere.

What you actually see

• The solar alignment - equinox sun down the main axis and solstice light on the flanking stones.
• The three temples - separate structures of different dates sharing a forecourt.
• The coastal shelf - the position above the sea with Filfla island offshore.
• The coralline stone - harder limestone used here, better preserved than at Hagar Qim.

When to go

March to May and September to November are the most comfortable. Equinox and solstice viewings are ticketed separately and sell out immediately. Summer heat is severe.

Honest expectations

Access is only through Hagar Qim and involves a walk downhill and back up. The fabric shelter covers the temple as at its neighbour. The equinox events are almost impossible to get tickets for.

Nearby

Hagar Qim is uphill, and the Blue Grotto is east.