Majjistral Nature and History Park

Majjistral Nature and History Park (Il-Majjistral, Park ta' Natura u Storja) protects the northwest coast of Malta between Golden Bay and Anchor Bay, the cove that holds Popeye Village. The park's own figures give six square kilometres of land and a 6 km stretch of coast, reaching inland towards Xaghra l-Hamra above Mellieha. The site was once earmarked for a golf course; it was declared a national park in 2007, and the park describes itself as Malta's first. It sits inside a Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation.

The park is run by the Heritage Parks Federation, a registered NGO formed in 2007 by two heritage and nature bodies, Din l-Art Helwa and Nature Trust Malta. Rangers and volunteers work on habitat restoration, native planting and the small dune remnant behind Golden Bay (Ramla tal-Mixquqa), which the park says holds the island's last shifting sand dunes.

Habitats and wildlife

The landscape is built from layers you can read on the walk: hard Upper Coralline Limestone caps soft Blue Clay, the clay erodes, and the cap collapses into boulder screes along the shore. Above the cliffs is low garrigue scrub with wild thyme, patches of dense maquis, and in winter small rock pools. The cliffs hold one of Malta's largest breeding concentrations of the Yelkouan shearwater, which returns to its nests from January or February. Year-round residents include the spectacled warbler and the blue rock thrush, Malta's national bird, and in spring and autumn the coast lies under the migration route for honey buzzards and bee-eaters. See our birdwatching in Malta guide for the wider picture.

Heritage along the trails

The park is as much about history as nature. Look for Ghajn Znuber Tower (a two-storey 19th-century tower restored in 2012), early 18th-century Knights' entrenchments above Golden Bay, British pillboxes and Navy stone markers, cart ruts, and corbelled stone huts (giren) built by farmers and shepherds. In 1915 a 5,000-bed convalescent camp for soldiers wounded at Gallipoli stood here. The park's visitor centre occupies part of the old British barracks at Ghajn Tuffieha.

Visiting Majjistral

• As of November 2026, the park is free to enter on foot and open all year. Visit in daylight; its official pages give conflicting daily access hours.
• As of November 2026 the visitor centre opens Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 15:00, and some weekends when volunteers are available.
• Vehicles are not allowed inside; park at the edges and walk in.
• Dogs are welcome on a lead. Camping, open fires and barbecues are not allowed.
• Hunting is legal on regulated autumn and winter days, so keep to the paths and wear something visible on early mornings in season.

The park recommends walking from October to April and keeping summer visits to sunset. Combine it with a swim at Golden Bay or Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, and with a wetland stop at Ghadira Nature Reserve on the other side of Mellieha. Our coastal walking and hiking page covers other routes on the islands.