Xlendi Bay

Where it sits. Xlendi occupies a narrow inlet on Gozo's southwest coast, three kilometres from Victoria, where a long valley system reaches the sea between two headlands of high limestone. It lies within the boundaries of Munxar. The bay is deep, sheltered and short — a few hundred metres from the open sea to the sand at its head — with cliffs rising sharply on both sides, so the settlement has nowhere to go but up the valley behind it and out along the two rock shelves at the water's edge. The result is one of the most enclosed and theatrically framed bays in the Maltese islands, and one of the most tightly built.

The story behind it. This inlet has been an anchorage for a very long time. Roman-period remains have been recorded on the shore and in the water, including amphorae and structures associated with a small harbour, and rock-cut tombs survive in the valley sides. In 2007 a considerably older find was made offshore: a shipwreck lying at around 110 metres depth, dated to roughly the seventh century BC and carrying grinding stones and amphorae, one of the oldest wrecks known in the central Mediterranean and far too deep for anything but remotely operated survey. On the southern headland stands Xlendi Tower, a small square watchtower built in 1650 under Grand Master Jean Paul Lascaris — the first coastal tower erected on Gozo and the oldest still standing on the island. A stepped path cut into the rock leads out to it in ten minutes from the promenade.

What you actually see today. The head of the bay holds a short strip of sand and a promenade lined with restaurants whose tables run almost to the water. Behind them, apartment blocks built through the 1970s and 1980s climb the valley sides, some of them uncomfortably close to the shoreline — Xlendi, like Marsalforn, is a standing example in Maltese planning debates. Rock shelves on both flanks provide better swimming than the small beach: ladders drop into water that is usually eight to ten metres deep and exceptionally clear, since the bay has no river and little sediment. On the northern side, a path leads past a series of salt pans and around to the base of the cliffs. A rock-cut pool at the valley head, known as il-Kantra, is traditionally said to have been screened for the use of nuns from a nearby convent.

Under the water. Xlendi is one of Gozo's principal shore-diving sites and is unusual in being suitable for beginners and experienced divers from the same entry point. The Xlendi Cave and the tunnel that runs through the southern headland sit at depths of roughly seven to fifteen metres, a short swim from the shore; the tunnel is around fifty metres long and emerges on the open coast, with light from both ends making it approachable for divers early in their training. Outside the bay, the reef drops steeply, and octopus, moray, barracuda and large groupers are regularly seen. Several dive schools operate directly from the promenade.

The walks out of the bay. The cliff path south from the tower climbs onto the plateau and links to the Sanap Cliffs, a run of open garrigue and sheer coast with views along Gozo's southern shore towards Ta' Ċenċ — around forty-five minutes at a steady pace, unshaded, and worth timing for late afternoon. North, the coastal route runs towards Dwejra past the tal-Ġebla headland. Inland, the valley path towards Kerċem and the spring-fed Lunzjata Valley is green and shaded well into summer, a startling contrast to the bare rock at the coast.

Getting there and timing. Bus 306 links Victoria and Xlendi in around ten minutes and is frequent in summer; parking at the bay is very limited and effectively impossible in August. The bay faces southwest, so it holds the sun until late and the promenade at dusk is the local ritual. Swimming conditions are usually calm because of the shelter, but a southwesterly pushes swell straight into the inlet and can make the shelves unsafe. May, June, September and October combine warm water with room to move. The promenade and the beach are level and reachable on wheels; the tower path, the cliff walks and the swimming ladders are not.