Why go
The islands are not a forest landscape. Their character lies in limestone shorelines, cliff and bay habitats, aromatic low vegetation and resilient Mediterranean plants. Explore Dingli, the coast near Għajn Tuffieħa or Gozo for the open landscape; visit Buskett Gardens for an instructive contrast in a rare wooded setting.
The full story
Malta’s natural landscape begins with exposed limestone and limited freshwater. The south and south-west descend steeply to the sea, while the north and north-east have gentler hills, bays and some sandy beaches. Caves are common, and the space between rock and sea creates distinct habitats on both flat and cliffed coasts. Vegetation is mostly low and drought-adapted: garrigue, maquis and steppe rather than broad woodland. Carob, olive, thyme, mastic and sea-lavender are among the plants that fit this climate, and Malta’s flora combines Sicilian and North African influences with endemic species. Most original woodland has long disappeared. Buskett Gardens, near Dingli and Rabat, is therefore meaningful precisely because its trees are unusual in the archipelago. Walk these places with the expectation of open sun, rock and scent, not dense shade; the sparseness is the landscape’s defining feature.