Qrendi, the village with the temples on its doorstep

Qrendi is small, 3,383 people according to the NSO, but it holds one of the most striking sights in Malta. Plenty of visitors reach the temples without realising they’re in Qrendi at all, and leave without seeing the village. Here’s what it has beyond the stones.

A village since 1618

For centuries Qrendi was part of Żurrieq. Żurrieq council says as much, listing the hamlets that once came under it and noting that Qrendi became a village in its own right in 1618. Today it’s a quiet place, with around one in nine residents from abroad and very little accommodation, just a guesthouse and seven holiday lets on the MTA register.

In the centre, between Triq Ġuże’ Cassar and Triq Ġużeppi D’Arena, an obelisk-shaped memorial lists the villagers killed in the Axis bombing of the Second World War, unveiled in 1995 by the President of Malta. It isn’t a sight as such, but it helps explain why so many southern villages were rebuilt after the war.

What is Il-Maqluba?

It’s the thing that surprises me most about Qrendi. Next to the small chapel of St Matthew, a round hollow opens up, about 40 metres deep, 100 long and 60 wide, with trees growing at the bottom. The council explains that steps lead down to a viewing point over the drop.

The legend is a good one. A village of ill-living people supposedly stood here until an earthquake swallowed it, sparing only one devout woman who was praying in the chapel, which still stands on the rim. The council dates the storm to 24 November 1343, the eve of St Catherine’s feast in Żejtun, and gives the likelier explanation, underground caves collapsing. Il-Maqluba is protected under Natura 2000, covering 2.62 hectares.

There’s another detail I love. Among the trees at the bottom grows the għargħar, Malta’s national tree, which the council describes as fairly rare. In winter rainwater collects in the hollow and sometimes covers even the big trees, before draining away quickly through cracks in the rock. Come after a few wet days and it may look nothing like the summer photos.

The temples and the coast

Within Qrendi’s limits lie Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, two megalithic complexes more than 5,000 years old. The council counts them among the oldest free-standing buildings in the world and notes that some of their blocks weigh up to 20 tonnes. They’re the main event and the reason to come.

On the same stretch of coast, the council describes three things you’ll pass. A mid-17th-century tower built under Grand Master de Redin as part of an early-warning system; close by, the memorial to Congreve, the British governor who asked to be buried at sea between Malta and Filfla; and the Ta’ Sciutu tower, built under Grand Master Lascaris, now the police station for the Wied iż-Żurrieq area. Inland there’s also the Octagonal Tower, most likely put up by a private family to guard against pirates.

Filfla on the horizon

From this coast you can see Filfla, an islet the council describes as a bird reserve since 1980, protected by a 1988 act. It was used for target practice by the Royal Navy and the RAF until 1971, and today no one may go there without a permit. The view from the temples will do nicely.

Getting there

From the airport, route 72 runs to Qrendi, stopping at Ċintra. From Valletta I don’t have a sourced direct route, so check the journey planner. My plan would be temples, Il-Maqluba and, if the wind isn’t from the south, the Blue Grotto, finishing up in Żurrieq, the village Qrendi broke away from.