RAMLA BAY

This is one of the obligatory passages for anyone travelling to Malta and, a fortiori, to Gozo. Ramla Bay known in Maltese as "Ramla I-Hamra", i.e. the red sandy beach and is one of the most beautiful unspoilt beaches on the island. It is reproduced on many postcards and is also the regular setting for many fashion magazine photos. Reddish sand and very soft, very wide beach allowing crowds to gather there in summer. Roman ruins are buried under the sand, and the Calypso Cave overlooks the west side of the beach. One has to go back to the Roman Empire to find traces of a marble and stucco decorated villa built on this site. Surrounded by hills on both sides, the sandy path on the east side of the hill leads to Calypso Cave, a natural cave that tradition associates with the capture of Ulysses during seven years in theOdyssey. Also visible is a statue of the Virgin Mary erected in 1881 in the middle of the bay.

Advice. It's best to wear special non-slip shoes if you want to enter the water because a good series of stones cover the first few meters. Toilets and showers are at your disposal, to the right of the cafés where you can have a drink and a bite to eat when you leave the beach.

During the summer, many musical events are organized on the wasteland overlooking the beach, even allowing festival-goers to camp there. An experience to be tried.