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Ninety seconds on Wied il-Mielaħ Window
Take bus 312, which runs from Victoria to Għarb, and get off in the village. From there, follow the roads toward the Wied il-Mielaħ valley on foot until the lanes end near the clifftop.
Yes. Visitor listings give the window as free and open 24 hours, and no ticket booth is reported at the site, which sits on open coastline at the end of the valley road from Għarb.
No. One visitor guide lists no facilities of any kind on site, so visitors bring everything they need for the visit before the drive down the narrow valley road from Għarb.
Five kilometres from Victoria, you look down from the clifftop at the end of a valley north of Għarb onto Gozo’s most prominent remaining sea arch, a block of limestone suspended over clear water.
Wied il-Mielaħ Window is a huge limestone arch standing in the cliffs at the end of the valley it is named after. The sea and its storms cut through the cliff here, and have carved and reshaped the rock over centuries.
Before 2017 the window was a lesser-known alternative to the Azure Window, and it gained prominence after that arch collapsed in a storm in 2017.
Turn your back to the arch before you leave. Opposite it, a small passage in the rock gives a distant view of a second window in the cliffs.
The valley slopes behind are dotted with wild flowers, a bright backdrop for photographs. On the western side of the window, fences have been fixed to the rock for climbers on the vertical cliff wall.
Taking the road from Għarb brings you directly to the coast. Drive slowly and leave the car where the road widens.
From the car park, walk out over the rock to the edge above the arch. There is no formal viewpoint.
A narrow rock staircase at the end of the valley, parallel to the old river bed, leads down to just before the window. Its state varies, and if the steps are closed, keep to the clifftop above the arch.
Back at the car park, a road heads east along the cliffs to Wied il-Għasri, also worth a visit.
Carry water, sun protection and a light layer against the wind, and take all your rubbish back with you.
Ta' Pinu Basilica is under 2 km away, and the Xwejni Salt Pans are about 3 km off, so the arch fits easily into a loop of this corner of Gozo.
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