Why this ride
A 240 km round trip from Żurrieq - roughly 7 h 18 in the saddle. The stops in between: Megalithic Temples of Malta, City of Valletta, Ġgantija Temples and back through City of Valletta.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ħaġar Qim and Ġgantija Temples
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 18
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ħaġar Qim
Ħaġar Qim stands on a windswept ridge at the southern end of Malta, with the sea below and a small rocky island, Filfla, on the horizon. The temple was built around 3600 to 3200 BC, which makes it older than Stonehenge and the pyramids, and it is built of huge blocks of coralline limestone, some of them several metres high. The tallest single stone, in the facade, is about five metres, and the whole structure is laid out in a pattern of curving chambers, like a clover leaf. Inside are altars, carved holes and doorways that hint at ceremonies we can only guess at.
Read the complete Ħaġar Qim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ħaġar Qim is where the day begins. Next is Megalithic Temples of Malta.
2. Megalithic Temples of Malta
Before there were pyramids in Egypt, or Stonehenge on its plain, people on a small Mediterranean island were building enormous stone temples, and some of them are still standing. The group at Ġgantija, on the island of Gozo, goes back to roughly 3600 BC, which makes it among the oldest free-standing monuments in the world. The walls are made of huge limestone blocks, some weighing several tonnes, and they curve into rounded chambers like the lobes of a clover leaf. Local legend said they were built by a giantess, and the name comes from the word for giant.
Read the complete Megalithic Temples of Malta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Megalithic Temples of Malta comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is City of Valletta.
3. City of Valletta
Valletta is a city drawn with a ruler. After the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights of St John and the Maltese held out through a summer against the Ottoman fleet, Grand Master Jean de Valette decided to build a fortress city on the narrow peninsula between two deep harbours, and the foundation stone went down in 1566. The streets run in a straight grid, which was unusual for the time, and the steep ones end in steps and views of the sea. Within a couple of generations it was one of the finest baroque cities in Europe, and it is still compact enough to walk end to end in half an hour.
Read the complete City of Valletta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 79 km into the recorded legs you reach City of Valletta. Next is Ġgantija Temples.
4. Ġgantija Temples
On the island of Gozo, the smaller sister of Malta, there stands a pair of temples that are older than the pyramids of Egypt and older than Stonehenge. The Ġgantija temples were built between about 3600 and 3200 BC, and the name comes from the Maltese word for giant, since islanders long believed that only a race of giants could have lifted such enormous stones. Local legend adds a giantess who carried the blocks on her head while nursing a baby, and who lived on a diet of broad beans. Some of the standing stones are over five metres tall, and the outer walls are made of massive pieces of coralline limestone, while the inner walls are finer-grained globigerina stone.
Read the complete Ġgantija Temples write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ġgantija Temples, about halfway. Next is back through City of Valletta.
5. back through City of Valletta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete City of Valletta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through City of Valletta sits at 152 km, about halfway. Next is back through Megalithic Temples of Malta.
6. back through Megalithic Temples of Malta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Megalithic Temples of Malta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Megalithic Temples of Malta comes up about 200 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ħaġar Qim.
7. Ħaġar Qim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ħaġar Qim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ħaġar Qim closes the day.
Leg by leg
Ħaġar Qim to Megalithic Temples of Malta
Ħaġar Qim → Megalithic Temples of Malta is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Megalithic Temples of Malta to City of Valletta
Megalithic Temples of Malta → City of Valletta is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
City of Valletta to Ġgantija Temples
City of Valletta → Ġgantija Temples is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ġgantija Temples to back through City of Valletta
Ġgantija Temples → back through City of Valletta is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through City of Valletta to back through Megalithic Temples of Malta
back through City of Valletta → back through Megalithic Temples of Malta is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Megalithic Temples of Malta to Ħaġar Qim
back through Megalithic Temples of Malta → Ħaġar Qim is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.