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Hiking around Gozo is the perfect way to discover this beautiful island. You can hike around Gozo in just one day if you have the courage or you can do it in two. If you are not used to hiking I recommend you to do it in 3 or 4 days depending on your preference. If you want more information about the hike read the blog What to know about hiking around Gozo.
In total you hike around 57 km along the coastline. With this blog I will explain how we hiked Gozo in two days:
Every day I give the time and level, but this is from our experience. Our time takes longer than what most hikers do because we are not trained hikers and we take our time to take pictures and enjoy the surroundings. Besides that, it is the time without any stops or breaks so, I would recommend adding 1 or 2 hours depending on how many breaks you take and how long.
Tip: make sure you always stay along the coastline and follow the red dots. Sometimes they will go away from the coastline but keep on following the coastline. Only near Nadur and Qala it’s not possible to walk along the coastline.
Since 2016 there is a law that the coastal perimeter is public domain which means you can hike there. The public domain is 15 meters from the shoreline inwards. If you want to read more about this law, check out the following document.
Day 1: Mgarr – Zebbug
- Duration: 8:15 hours
- Distance: 30 km
- Elevation gain: 1,144 meters
- Level: moderate
The first day we took the ferry in the morning and started the hike at the Ferry Station in Mgarr. When you walk outside the ferry station you walk to the left in the direction of Xlendi. The hike is best to do clockwise.
When you are outside the building of the Ferry station you walk up the street Triq Ix Xatt. You will immediately see a road going to the left. Cross over the Triq Ix Xatt street and go on this road. You will pass by the Gozo Channel Head office and see parking spaces. A hiking trail starts at the end of this road. You can walk along the coastline until you reach Mgarr ix-Xini which is like a little valley. You can walk along it and go down. Afterwards you go back up and hike to the Ta Cenc Cliffs. Don’t worry if you don’t always see a trail, just follow along the coastline and watch your step.
Warning: don’t go to close to the cliffs because it’s dangerous.
When you passed by this amazing view over the Ta Cenc Cliffs you can keep following the coastline. There is a trail all the way to the town Xlendi. At a certain point you will see a wall on the trail. It is possible to climb over the wall and the trail will continue. You can see that many people already climbed over this wall. If you think it is too scary it is possible to go around but it’s a big detour.
The trail goes then all the way to Xlendi just follow the coastline. When you arrive in Xlendi you can take a long break and buy something to eat or drink. In Xlendi you will see stairs going up. You need to go up the stairs (you will see red dots) and before the path goes down, you need to go up the rocks. On the rocks there are red dots that you can follow.
After going up from Xlendi you can hike all the way to Dwerja Bay on a trail along the coastline. Make sure you stay along the coastline. It’s the same after Dwerja, you will see a trail up and you can hike until Zebbug. We hiked all the way until Big Cave – Għar tal-Qrewis which was around 30 kilometres.
Highlights day 1 on the route:
- Xatt I-Ahmar Salt Pans
- Mgarr ix-Xini
- Ta cenc Cliffs
- Sannat sunset viewpoint
- Sanap cliffs
- Xlendi tower
- Xlendi beach
- Santwarju
- Dwejra Bay (Blue hole)
- Mushroom rock
- Wied il-Mielah
Tip: make sure you start this day early, then you can hike even hike further if you want.
Day 2: Zebbug – Mgarr
- Duration: 8:00 hours
- Distance: 27 km
- Elevation gain: 702 meters
- Level: easy
On day 2 we hiked from Zebbug to Mgarr the Ferry Station. We first passed by Wied il-Ghasri. It’s again like a little valley. You can hike along the cliffs then go down and up again. Afterwards, you hike along the coastline all the way to Marsalforn. There you can relax and eat or drink something. Then you can head all the way to Ramla beach. The trail is not always easy to find but I recommend you to stay along the coastline and stay low. After Ramla Beach you hike up all the way to Tal-Mixta Cave where you have an indescribable view.
When you visited the cave unfortunately you need to hike along the roads. You go outside the cave and follow the road to the right until you are on a paved road. On the paved road you go to the left. Follow the Triq ir-Ramla I-Hamra road. You will pass an intersection make sure to go straight. After the intersection you will find another intersection then take the left road called Dahla ta’ San Blas. Go straight at the intersections and you will be on the road Triq Wiedi ir-Rihan. Make sure to keep an eye on the red dots because you will need to go to the right at one point and follow the hiking trail (Triq ir-Rihan).
You will come back on the road and go down to Dahlet Qorrot Beach. From there you can hike a small part along the coastline. At some point you will see red dots going up at the road Triq ta Ghajn Hagar. You need to follow the red dots and follow the road up and do a detour to the left to get back to the coastline following the street Triq ta Gafan then go to the left to Triq tal-Gasam. From there you will find back a trail on the right side. Follow the trail along the coastline all the way to Mgarr.
Highlights day 2 on the route:
- Wied il-Ghasri
- Xwejni Salt Pans
- Xwejni Bay
- Xwejni Rock
- Marsalforn
- Ix-Xtajta
- Ramla Beach
- Tal-Mixta Cave
- San Filep Beach
- Dahlet Qorrot Beach
- St. Anthony’s Battery
- Hondoq ir-Rummien
- Mgarr harbour
It is an amazing hike but best to do outside the summer season because it will be less crowded and not too hot. You will have some indescribable views during this hike it’s definitely worth it. Read more about the hike on What to know about hiking around Gozo.
