Name: Explore Megalithic Temples on private tour from Valletta
SKU: 41717
Price: 10 USD
Availability: InStock

Duration: 4h

Activity Level: Easy

Experience: Adventure, Unesco, Historical, Nature

Language: English

Photo permit included

Tour by public transport

Canal Boat tour included

Train tickets included

Suitable for little children

Wheelchair accessible tour

Museum ticket included

Light snack included

Lunch included

Transportation included

Walking Tour

Overview

Valletta is the capital of Malta, a World Heritage site which is almost an open-air museum. Valletta has welcomed emperors, heads of state, artists and poets and is now the permanent seat of the Maltese government. The grid of narrow streets boasts some of Europe's finest art works, churches and palaces.

Valletta is full of intriguing historical sites; there are many votive statues, niches, fountains and coats of arms high up on parapets. Narrow side streets are full of tiny quaint shops and cafés. The magnificent fortress city grew on the arid rock of Mount Sceberras peninsula, which rises steeply from two deep harbours, Marsamxett and Grand Harbour. Started in 1566, Valletta was completed, with its impressive bastions, forts and cathedral, in the astonishingly short time of 15 years. Ruled successively by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and the Order of the Knights of St John, it is one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.

What's included

English-speaking guide
Pick-up and drop-off
Transportation
Entrance fees (Temples Megalithic)

Food and drinks
Personal expenses

Pick-up and drop-off at the port of Valletta
Comfortable footwear required
Sun cream and bottled water are recommended to be taken

Highlights

Hagar Qim

Hagar Qim is a megalithic temple complex found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, dating from the Ġgantija phase. The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth, described by the World Heritage Sites committee as "unique architectural masterpieces."

Malta

Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast. It's a nation known for historic sites related to a succession of rulers including the Romans, Moors, Knights of Saint John, French and British. It has numerous fortresses, megalithic temples and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a subterranean complex of halls and burial chambers dating to circa 4000 B.C.

Marsaxlokk

Marsaxlokk is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen, and history. As of March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534.

Megalithic Temples of Malta

The Megalithic Temples of Malta are several prehistoric temples, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, built during three distinct periods approximately between 3600 BC and 2500 BC on the island country of Malta. They had been claimed as the oldest free-standing structures on Earth until the discovery of Göbekli Tepe Archaeologists believe that these megalithic complexes are the result of local innovations in a process of cultural evolution. This led to the building of several temples of the Ġgantija phase (3600–3000 BC), culminating in the large Tarxien temple complex, which remained in use until 2500 BC. After this date, the temple-building culture disappeared. The Ġgantija temples were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. In 1992, the UNESCO Committee further extended the existing listing to include five other megalithic temple sites. These are Ħaġar Qim (in Qrendi), Mnajdra (in Qrendi), Ta' Ħaġrat Temples (in Mġarr), Skorba Temples (in Żebbiegħ) and Tarxien Temples (in Tarxien). Nowadays, the sites are managed by Heritage Malta, while ownership of the surrounding lands varies from site to site. Apart from these, there are other megalithic temples in Malta which are not included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Tarxien Temples

The Tarxien Temples are an archaeological complex in Tarxien, Malta. They date to approximately 3150 BC. The site was accepted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 along with the other Megalithic temples on the island of Malta. The Tarxien Temples consist of three separate, but attached, temple structures. The main entrance is a reconstruction dating from 1956, when the whole site was restored. At the same time, many of the decorated slabs discovered on site were relocated indoors for protection at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. The first temple has been dated to approximately 3100 BC and is the most elaborately decorated of the temples of Malta. The middle temple dates to about 3000 BC, and is unique in that, unlike the rest of the Maltese temples, it has three pairs of apses instead of the usual two. The east temple is dated at around 3100 BC. The remains of another temple, smaller, and older, having been dated to 3250 BC, are visible further towards the east.

Valletta

Valletta (or Il-Belt) is the tiny capital of the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. The walled city was established in the 1500s on a peninsula by the Knights of St. John, a Roman Catholic order. It’s known for museums, palaces and grand churches. Baroque landmarks include St. John’s Co-Cathedral, whose opulent interior is home to the Caravaggio masterpiece "The Beheading of Saint John."

Itinerary

09:00

You will be met at the port and guided you to your transportation ready to commence your tour.

The first visit will be the site of the temple of Hagar Qim. The Temple of Hagar Qim (c. 3600 – 3200 BC) stands on a hilltop overlooking the sea and the islet of Filfla. The views out across the sea from here are beautiful with breathtaking views and there are fantastic photo opportunities. The temple itself consists of a single temple unit, although it is not clear if it was originally constructed as a four or five-apse structure. Other temple ruins stand a few metres away from the main temple and the forecourt and facade follow the pattern typical of temples across the Islands. Various items of interest have been unearthed at Hagar Qim, notably a decorated pillar altar, two table-altars and some of the ‘fat lady’ statues which are now on display in the National Museum of Archaeology.

From here your tour continues as you make your way over to visit one of the three temples of Tarxien, the best example of the megalithic culture of the Copper Age. Tarxien was the first temple site to be excavated and it offers a unique collection of Stone idols and tablets, domestic animals carved in relief, altars and screens decorated with spiral designs and other patterns, oracular chambers and riches enhance the attractions of these temples. The site lay hidden for centuries until its discovery in 1914, when farmers struck large stone blocks while ploughing a field. Malta’s first director of Museums excavated the site in 1915-17. Fertility goddess figures (now in the national museum in Valetta) discovered at the ruins indicates that the temples were dedicated to the Earth Mother, as were many Maltese temples. The most famous of these figures is a sculpture of large hips with feet, dubbed the ‘Fat Lady’ Spherical stones also found at the site have provided a valuable clue as to how the great stones of Malta’s megalithic temples were moved into place—they were probably rolled on the stones while being towed with ropes.

The tour continues with a visit to the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk where you can enjoy the beautiful waterfront area with its multicoloured boats, stone houses, and where you can watch the local fishermen repairing their nets as they dry out in the sun or simply relax and enjoy this beautiful village with a coffee.

The tour ends with a drive back to the port to meet your cruise ship in plenty of time for your departure.

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Explore Megalithic Temples on private tour from Valletta