Dingli Cliffs
The island's wild, high western shoulder.
While much of Malta meets the sea in low rock and harbours, its western shoulder rears up into the Dingli Cliffs — the highest point of the island at around 250 metres. Here the land simply stops, in tiers of pale limestone and terraced fields that end at a long drop to the water.
A clifftop lane runs past the tiny, whitewashed chapel of St Mary Magdalene, a landmark since the seventeenth century, with the little island of Filfla floating offshore. It is a wonderfully unhurried place, a world away from the island's busy coasts.
Nearby are the mysterious parallel grooves in the rock known as Clapham Junction — prehistoric 'cart ruts' whose purpose is still debated — and the shaded paths of Buskett, Malta's only sizeable woodland.
Getting there
Dingli village is about 25 minutes by car from Valletta. Buses 201 and 202 serve Dingli from Rabat and the airport area. The cliffs are a short walk from the village, with a clifftop road and the Magdalene Chapel marking the best viewpoints.