Explore the Double Arch

From shoals of barracudas and amberjacks to groupers and at times even tuna, marine life in the area and around the two archways is prolific. Riddled with several crevasses on the walls and dotted with different sized boulders on the sea bed, there is so much to see and explore. Apart from the landscape, the dive site also has some interesting swim-throughs. The shaded undersides of both arches are covered in small and colourful sponges and golden cup corals, whereas the deeper parts are home to slipper lobsters and various species of sea urchins.

If you dive south towards the shore, you’ll be able to marvel at the large meadows of Posidonia, also known as Neptune Grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, endemic to the area. Closer to the rocky Xwejni shoreline, you’ll be able to spot cuttlefish, wrasses and an octopus or two.

small inlet is surrounded by gentle sloping sides. Once you’re on this drop-off and looking out at sea, take a turn and follow the cliff edge, heading north. Doing so will lead you straight to massive boulders located at an average depth of 25 metres and past these, you’ll find the majestic Double Arch.

Once you have taken your time to discover the area and have marvelled at the groupers, blennies, nudibranchs and anemones, don’t forget to swim further away and snap a picture of the Double Arch from afar.

By far Gozo’s most popular tourist resort and once an important fishing village, Marsalforn lies between the hilltop towns of Xaghra and Zebbug and sits at the mouth of a lush valley which stretches all the way to Victoria, the island’s capital city. The valley is bounded by several hillocks, with the most famous of these being the tas-Salvatur, otherwise known as Our Saviour’s Hill, adorned with a massive statue of the Christ, towering twelve metres above the hill. The promenade is lined by restaurants and backed by hotels and apartments.

To the west of the town and past the promenade, there’s the small bay of Qbajjar, a well-known beach in the area and a little distance beyond that, the quiet shingle beach at Xwejni, however, along the rocky coastline you’ll find a number of interesting swimming spots. Past Xwejni Bay there is a vast area of salt pans, the largest in the island, while beyond these, you’ll find a stretch of cliffs that takes you all the way to Dwejra.

If trekking is your thing, then head to the east of Marsalforn and through a path on the road to Xaghra to explore Ghajn Barrani, a Natura 2000 protected site. Rich in flora and boasting strange rock formations and rolling clay slopes, the area is one of Gozo’s most spectacular coastal rambles.