Malta is an island nation in the Mediterranean, located between Italy to the north and Libya to the south. It’s an archipelago consisting of the three main, inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, with some 23 other smaller ones.

Lying on the Maltese Plateau, the islands are actually the highest points of a land bridge connecting Italy to North Africa that ended up submerged when sea levels rose during the last ice age. It’s a relatively flat country albeit a varied one, with the five major ecosystems being garigue, woodlands, maquis, steppe and the coastal areas. With limited freshwater resources and water taking up a big, fat zero percent of its land area, together with the ongoing poorly controlled urbanisation and construction, it might be surprising to some that Malta ranked fourth globally in the 2022 Environmental Performance Index (though it shifted to thirteenth in the 2024 rankings). 

Malta exhibits a Mediterranean climate with four seasons – winters being wet and cold and summers hot and dry. With around three thousand hours of daytime sunshine a year, it is no wonder that Malta is dubbed as The Land of Sun and Sea, making it one of the foremost tourist destinations in all of Europe.

Despite its small size, Malta supports a surprisingly rich biodiversity with roughly 4,500 terrestrial species and a vibrant Mediterranean marine ecosystem. The sun-drenched landscape – featuring rocky garrigue, coastal cliffs, and rare sand dunes – harbours around 85 unique endemic species found nowhere else, including the Maltese freshwater crab and the Maltese rock-centaury. Additionally, these coastal and marine habitats serve as vital breeding and resting grounds for diverse wildlife, from loggerhead turtles and dolphins to native seabirds like Scopoli’s Shearwater.

According to Maltese legend, the Il-Maqluba sinkhole was once a wicked village that God swallowed into the earth as punishment, sparing only one virtuous woman whose home is now the site of the Chapel of St. Matthew. Angels allegedly tossed the village’s cursed rubble into the sea, forming the barren islet of Filfla. In reality, this dramatic crater is a natural limestone sinkhole that collapsed during a severe storm or earthquake around 1343.