Ġgantija's two Neolithic temples still have walls standing to about 6 metres in places, and you walk among ruins that are well preserved for buildings of their age.
Archaeological Site, Xagħra. Meridian Dispatch.
Yes. Heritage Malta sells a combo ticket for the Ġgantija Archaeological Park and Ta' Kola Windmill, a mill built in the 18th century a few minutes' walk away in Xagħra.
Tickets are sold through the Heritage Malta online store or at the entrance on the day. Each one is a combo ticket that also admits the holder to the Ta' Kola Windmill in the village.
About an hour covers the visitor centre and both temples. The temples themselves are small, so much of the visit goes on the indoor museum, whose displays explain who the islands' early inhabitants were.
Ġgantija is more than 5,500 years old. That makes its two temples the world's second-oldest surviving manmade religious structures after Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, and about 1,000 years older than Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt.
Yes. The two Ġgantija temples on Gozo form part of the Megalithic Temples of Malta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and UNESCO singles them out for their gigantic structures. Heritage Malta runs the park, which stands just outside Xagħra.
Mġarr Harbour, where the ferry from Ċirkewwa on Malta arrives after a crossing of around 25 minutes, is about 15 minutes' drive from the park. Without a car, the onward trip is by bus or taxi from the harbour, with public transport connecting through Victoria.
Heritage Malta puts the park a 7-minute drive from Victoria, Gozo's capital. The closest bus stop is a two-minute walk from the site entrance on Triq John Otto Bayer.
Ġgantija Archaeological Park stands on Triq John Otto Bayer in Xagħra, on the island of Gozo. Heritage Malta manages the site, and the drive from the Mġarr ferry harbour takes roughly a quarter of an hour.
The Ta' Kola Windmill, covered by the same ticket, stands nearby in Xagħra, and Ramla Bay is another close stop. Victoria, Gozo's capital, with its Citadel, is about a 7-minute drive from the park.
Ġgantija is two limestone temples built side by side on the Xagħra plateau in Gozo. The South Temple is the older of the two buildings.
The bare stone you see outside was not how the temples looked in use. Fragments of plaster with red ochre, shown in the Interpretation Centre, indicate that the inner walls were once plastered and painted. Look at them before you head out to the ruins, so you can picture the colour on the walls.
The name comes from the Maltese word for giant. Local legend held that only giants could have lifted the stones into place. Stand beside the tallest stretch of wall and the reason for the story is plain to see.
The visit runs in one direction, from indoors to out. The Interpretation Centre comes first, with displays on life on the island in the Neolithic, so you meet the finds before the stones.
An outdoor pathway then leads from the centre into open countryside, where the temples sit. The temple areas are compact, so allow time to take them in rather than walking straight through.
The site has its own museum shop. For food and other amenities, Xagħra village square is a short walk away.
Guide and assistance dogs are welcome inside the park.
If you are arriving or leaving by taxi, two designated taxi bays sit in the car park by the exit building.
Ramla Bay is reached by road from Xagħra, so a swim there fits easily after the temples.
The Ġgantija temples, dated to as early as 3600 BC, stand in the village where you sleep, and Ramla Bay is a bus ride or a walk away.
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