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Ninety seconds on Xlendi Tower
It is a coastal watchtower of the Order of Malta, built in 1650 under Grand Master Lascaris to defend the bay against smugglers and pirates. It kept watch over the water until 1871.
Only on occasional open weekends, announced by Heritage Malta on its What's On page; recent ones have fallen in mid-August. Entry on those days is free, with no booking.
Cross the bridge at the mouth of Xlendi Bay onto the Ras il-Bajda headland, then follow the cliff top out to the point. The tower stands at the end, above the entrance to the bay.
You walk out onto the cliffs at the mouth of Xlendi Bay to reach Gozo's oldest free-standing coastal watchtower, a square stone block with a view over the whole bay.
Xlendi Tower stands on Ras il-Bajda, the cliff promontory above Xlendi Bay. From the point you look out over the bay it was built to defend and over the south-western approaches to Gozo.
Look for the platform that juts out seaward from the tower, a veranda overlooking the bay. No other coastal tower in the Maltese archipelago has one.
The tower itself is a compact square block, rising to a height of 30 courses of stone. The cliff top around it gives panoramic views back over the bay.
The water below matters as much as the stone. Just beneath the tower lies the world's first deep-water underwater archaeological park, opened to divers in 2023.
Out on the headland, the tower stands ahead on the point, and the view back over the bay opens up as you reach it.
Most days the visit is the tower from outside and the view from the cliff top. When the door is open, Heritage Malta has shown a display of underwater artefacts from Gozo's seabed inside. From the point, the walk can carry on towards the salt pans and Sanap, or you can walk back the way you came.
To swim afterwards, Xlendi Bay below the tower has rocks to jump into the water from and a diving board.
Allow half a day if you want the bay, the tower and the panoramic route along the high ground above it.
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