Gozo walking 3: Fungus Rock

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Santa Lucija Church

12th April 2026

This walk started with a short bus ride to Santa Lucija and then headed for the coast. Although the weather looks in the photographs to be much the same as on previous days there was one big difference. It was very windy: so much so that I feared being blown off the cliffs, which of course I wasn’t because here I am!

Before setting off along the cliff path we passed a small freshwater pond, L-Ghadira Ta’ Sarraflu, said to date from Roman times.

L-Ghadira Ta’ Sarraflu

Once on the coast, the eponymous Fungus Rock quickly appeared. The name derives from Fungus Gaulitanus which once grew here and which was much prized for its medicinal powers.

Walking to Fungus Rock

Past the rock we came to Dwejra Tower built in 1652 to guard the bay and prevent any thefts of the special fungi.

Dwejra Tower

On arrival at Dwerja Bay we stopped for lunch. There are a couple of cafes here, a church and a small lagoon known as the Inland Sea, so called because it’s connected to the sea by an 80m long tunnel cave through the rock. There also used to be a massive limestone arch nearby, the Azure Window, created by the sea and then destroyed by it during a storm in 2017.

After lunch we climbed up above the bay, with good views back to the rock, until we reached a road at a quarry.

Dwejra Bay

From here it was mostly road walking. When we arrived in San Lawrenz we were happy to relax for a while with a coffee in its pretty square (with inevitable large church). I found the signs rather unusual – does everyone here suffer from dementia?

San Lawrenz

From San Lawrenz it wasn’t far back to Santa Lucija, where we started, then Victoria. Our walking notes directed us the whole way back to the hotel but, given that our bus hadn’t turned up the day before and we’d done extra distance, I felt no guilt about cheating today. Passing a stop just outside Santa Lucija I checked the timetable and realised a bus was due in a few minutes. It duly arrived and we gladly hopped on!

We didn’t quite complete the following day’s hike either because a minor disaster struck. More soon!

Gozo, Malta , , ,

45 Comments »

  3. That inland sea is pretty wild. It looks like boats must also go in and out through the tunnel. Is that so? Seems like it could get dangerous at times.

    Well now you’ve got me waiting with bated breath for your next installment!

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  7. Like others said…how weird that a tower was built to protect the fungi. Did you find out what made them special?
    The sea creates interesting structures and then takes them away much much later. Looks like a decent day despite the wind.

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  8. Hi Anabel – it looks such ‘a fun’ place to visit … and what a name ‘Fungus Rock’ … love the origin. While Gozo looks so interesting … cheers Hilary

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  11. It’s amazing the history and the interesting facts you discover on your walks. Wonderful photos…they’d encourage anyone to visit and discover all that beautiful scenery. As you say strange signposts but maybe they’d help non English speaking visitors!

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  20. I like the little cove with its inland sea, it looks very quiet there or was that because it was out of season? Are those houses or commercial buildings?

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    • We didn’t venture down to the Inland Sea, being keen to get on, so I don’t know what the buildings are. It does look quiet, maybe boat trips weren’t popular that day, but out of shot is the cafe we had lunch in, which was quite busy, and there were also lots of people on the beach.

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