When my days backpacking in Malta were coming to an end, I only had one final place on my bucket list: to go hiking the Victoria Lines!
Also known as The Great Wall of Malta, the Victoria Lines were built in the late 19th century, the wall spans 12km dividing the north of the island from the south and mostly follows a geological fault that naturally divides the island.
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Nowadays many sections are broken and at times it can be hard to follow, but this is a wonderful hike that complements beautifully with all the coastal walks that can be done all over Malta.
There are no many signs or maps out there to know how to hike the Victoria Lines, so be prepared for a bit of improvisation. Having said that, the hike is not really demanding and no special preparation is needed. This was one of my favorite things to do in Malta!
Definitely you don’t need a guide for this hike. I saw one group with a guide on my day hiking the Victoria Lines and can surely tell you, if you’re minimally used to go hiking out there on your own you don’t need one.
The hike described on this post is about 12Km long, not all along the wall, and can be done in 2-3 hours. Finishing in the town of Mosta.
Where to stay when backpacking in Malta
There’s plenty of accommodation places to visit in Malta, and the country is generally well-linked by buses although they can be rather infrequent, so depending on your plans have a look on different areas.
I tried a couple of hostels in the Sliema and St. Julians area and also spend a few nights couchsurfing.
These areas are touristy but as I went in winter time there was not many people around, the good thing of this is that you still find plenty of restaurants and markets around. The ferry to Valletta is also within walking distance to go and explore the tiny capital of Malta.
I stayed a couple of nights at Hostel Jones, which is a sort of you-get-what-you-paid-for sort of hostel that could be so cool but seems the hostel has seen better days. When I moved out from it I went to Hostel Malti and I loved it there! from the staff to the cool rooftop this is a great budget friendly hostel in Malta!
Camping in Malta is not an easy thing to do as this is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. You will have more luck finding places to wild camp in the smaller island of Gozo, where you can also go for some incredible hiking!
Preparing to go Hiking the Victoria Lines
This hike is not complicated but if you happen to have a rainy day like me, a good pair of hiking boots will help in a few areas that can get muddy and slippery.
Take plenty of water and some snacks as you will not find any shops until you reach the town of Mosta. Please aim to use reusable bottles so we slowly reduce the use of plastic everywhere, I always recommend getting a water reservoir as it’s the best way to hydrate on the go.
As there are no signs pointing on where to go, one of the most important “preparations” is to bookmark some sections on maps.me, download the app if you have not done so and just search for “Victoria Lines” and bookmark each place that will kind of trace a route on the map.
Once you’re walking close to the wall you will start seeing some pink dots marking the trail. But don’t count on them at the very beginning.
How to start Hiking the Victoria Lines
To get to the trailhead from almost anywhere in the island you need to take 2 buses, one to Mdina and then from there take the 109 bus and stop at “Lellux”. The trip from St. Julians should take about an hour depending on traffic.
Check on Google Maps for the best route combination. Make sure to search directions to “Lellux, Rabat” as there’s another Lellux elsewhere in Malta.
Hiking the Victoria Lines
Once you get off the bus at the “Lellux” bus stop you will see immediately across the road a small road, that will take you to Kuncizzjoni which is about 1 km away.
From this point you will find a road towards the Sylvia King memorial and you can either go left towards a Victoria Lines sheltered viewpoint (easy to find on maps.me) or take the trail on the right.
I promise this section is the only difficult one on the entire hike, once you spot the Great Wall of Malta you will not need to check the GPS again.
Once you take that road on the right of the memorial, you will soon be able to spot the profile of the geological fault that naturally divides the island. At the background will be also easy to spot the Fort Bingemma, which is where you need to get to.
I had to do a bit of cross-county on this section, I left the paved road for a gated road that didn’t have any signs of “private property” so I went in.
After criss-crossing some fields I made it back to a paved road close to Fort Bingemma and it’s around here that you will finally see a clear trail marked on maps.me to follow towards Hunters Hill about 1 km away. Once on this trail you can finally forget about checking the GPS again!
This is definitely the most beautiful section of this day hiking the Victoria Lines. Going up to Hunters Hill is not steep, just a gentle climb following some remains of the wall and for the next 4 km or so there are some better preserved sections, it reminded me (on a much smaller scale) of my time hiking and camping on the Great Wall of China!
Most of the time on this section you will be walking on the wall itself, but there are areas where you go next to it.
On this section I couldn’t stop thinking on how nowadays some world leaders are still thinking of building walls and I just hope that soon enough we learn that we need to build bridges instead of meanings of division.
My hiking day got a little bit longer on this area as a really strong storm came very quickly and got me all soaked.
At some point it was hailing as well! luckily I was able to find a small shelter where I was stuck for almost an hour waiting for the storm to pass…
About a km or so after you passed Hunters Hill you will see the town of Mosta with its impressive dome in the distance. This is where the hike will end.
4 km after Hunters Hill is where I lost track of the wall. The trail gets cut by the highway and it’s hard to see where the wall continues, even that you can imagine geographically where it should be.
As I was soaked and cold I decided to head towards Mosta which is 3 km from the point you reach the highway.
In Mosta you will find plenty of places for eating or in my case, to have a very hot coffee!
From Mosta there are several buses going back towards St. Julians, Sliema, Valletta, etc.
All in all it was a 12 km hike, with a large section of this walk on roads or trails not related to the wall itself but still made it a really cool thing to do in Malta!
Feel free to reach out if you’re looking to go hiking the Victoria Lines and check the rest of my posts of my time backpacking in Malta for more ideas on your next adventure!
