Għar Lapsi

Lapsi Cave

Useful Information

Ghar Lapsi, **Tony Oldham**.
© **Anne Oldham**, 25-FEB-2002, with kind permission.

Location:	Siġġiewi, Malta. (35.8268645, 14.4234201)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Sea Cave
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Ned Middleton (1997): Maltese Islands / Diving Guide, 168 pp numerous colour plates, colour drawing, maps etc. lavishly illustrated. Swan Hill Press. pp 68-71
Address:	Kunsill Lokali Is-Siġġiewi, Siġġiewi Civic Centre, 18, St Nicholas Square, Siġġiewi SGW 1073, Malta, Tel: +356-2146-6000. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

This is one of the few places on the south coast where you don’t have to scramble down the cliff sides for a swim. It is also a very popular place for a picnic, with tables and benches laid out above the sea. There is a bar and sea view restaurant nearby which serves local specialities. One also has a good view of the Maghlaq Fault qv. [Maempel p 196]

The resort takes its name from the cave below the car park. Steps and concrete paths have been provided for the visitors.

The main cave is on the opposite side of the bay from the car park and a ladder is required. A narrow entrance leads to a low flat cave and a number of other entrances. Depth 12 m.

There is a coastal path starting here leading to the Blue Grotto.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.

Ghar Lapsi (Ascension Cave) is quite famous and freely accessible, located in Siggiewi at the south coast of Malta. The small sea cave is a huge portal up to 5 m high and probably 10 m wide, with a small room behind. There is a harbour with a jetty and a landing stage, and a concrete trail which was built to the cave, across the cave portal and along the cliff on the other side. The cave behind this trail is more or less dry, only during high tide there is a little water on the floor. In other words, it’s possible to visit the cave easily, but the cave itself is not a dive site. There are several other small caves along the trail which are used for storage and closed by a wall and iron bar gate.

The Ghar Lapsi Cave dive site is obviously another cave, probably a lower level which is between 5 and 12 m deep. This cave passage is about 40 m long and has several openings, so it is full of daylight. It is rather wide but not very high, though it is high enough for a diver without adjustments to the gear. The place offers many shallow dive sites named Finger Reef, Middle Reef, and Black John, and the Crib, named so as it resembles an underwater nativity scene.

The limestone cliffs along the coast are full of small sea caves. They may be visited on boat trips offered at nearby Cave Blue Grotto.