Malta – Southern Region – Filfla

The island at the rear of the three photos below is Filfla, which is around five kilometres to the south of the main island. It’s 15 acres in size and visitors aren’t allowed unless they get a permit in advance, which are usually limited to scientific or educational reasons. There was once a monastery on the site and also a lighthouse and small fort, but part of the island collapsed in an earthquake and took some of these buildings with it.

The British decided that they would use the island as target practice and they did this until 1971, but the island was turned into a bird reserve in 1980. It’s a popular areas with divers and the island is also home to a subspecies of the Filfola lizard which can only be found here.