Gnejna Bay Malta (Mgarr) | Sandy beach, Megaliths (Menhirs) and a Solar Observatory

Gnejna Bay Malta near Mgarr offers a lovely sandy beach, spectacular scenary, Megaliths and a Temple Builders solar observatory. Gnejna Bay, Mgarr, Malta is near Golden Bay (another sandy beach but very busy) and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay. So with its large car park, public toilets and a food van its a great day out.

Gnejna Bays Temple Builders solar observatory can be seen from the sandy beach and the road approaching it from Mgarr. In the image above the sun observatory is lite up by the sunshine and can be seen over the Gnejna Bay limestone cliff where the Maltese have dug out huts.

Gnejna Bays sandy beach is not the only great thing about this area. If you walk along the huts dug into the cliff side you can then go up into the Scree (boulders) and up to the solar observatory complex. Amongst the Scree is this odd limestone formation and lots of Maltese wild flowers.

Gnejna Bay Malta - Megaliths (Standing Stones)

Malta's Gnejna Bay is one of the few sandy beaches on the island of Malta. Up near the slopes leading to the headland of Ras il-Pellegrin can be found Megaliths (Standing Stones). This Megalith is part of a boulder "avenue" and one of the stone markers. These Megaliths (Menhirs) are large and one of them (images shown below) is found beside its large square Plinth Stone that it stood on.

The Megaliths above Gnejna Bay Malta are now fallen Standing Stones and are part of the Temple Builders horizon astronomy solar observatory. From these fallen Standing Stones (Menhirs) you have fine views of the sandy beach below at Gnejna Bay, the impressive and strange looking clay cliffs of Ghajn Tuffieha Bay and the popular and busy tourist sandy beach at Golden Bay.

Standing around or on the stones you get a view of the large rock formation to the west, where the sun sets behind it. Depending on where you stand in the solar observatory this horizon astronomy feature also has a V shape in it with a pointer needle in its middle. Perfect for horizon astonomy and marking the special solar days during the year.

Menhirs and Solar Observatory at Malta's Gnejna Bay

More Menhirs are found closer to the Solar Observatory at Malta's Gnejna Bay. The Megalith beside it has one flat surface and a square shape, it is likely to be its Plinth stone when it was buried or supported level in another way. It is similar to the possible Megalithic Plinth stones at the Dingli Cliffs solar obsevatory complex.

This Menhir (Megalith) has some very straight lines when you stand on top of the stone but it is a strange shaped stone. The Menhirs location is perfect, when combined with the horzon astronomy formation to its west, to mark special solar events.

** Photographs of Gnejna Bay and also its Solar Observatory complex
** Article about the Gnejna Bay Solar Observatory complex
** Digli Cliffs Malta - Solar Observatory complex | Articles and photographs

** EIE - sitemap / index