Hal Saflieni Hypogeum

There were two deaf people in my group of visitors. At the beginning of the tour, everyone is given a fully automatic hand-held speaker to hold up to their ear throughout the duration of the tour like a cellphone. As others have mentioned, the tour of this well-preserved underground marvel is limited to groups of 10 and consists of a surround-view movie, then a walk down into the hypogeum. The entire group stops every few feet to listen to a segment of audio coming from each of their respective devices for a number of minutes, then moves forward at the physical guide's prompting and repeats the process. The in-person guide does not interact with the group nearly at all other than to prompt people forward at the end of each audio segment. I was a bit surprised that no services whatsoever were provided for the deaf individuals via sign language or anything else to help point out what was being covered in the audio segments from everyone else's devices. There were likewise no subtitles provided for the movie played at the beginning, so those first fifteen minutes or so were spent by the hearing impaired individuals primarily looking at stock video footage play across the walls in a dark room. Individuals with hearing impairment should make the decision for themselves whether the expensive hypogeum visit is worth it to them. Without being able to hear the handheld audio guide device (which contains no earbuds or bluetooth connections), the tour consists …

As the previous reviews already cover the most relevant facts about visiting the Hypogeum, I would like to focus on the experience of buying the Last Minute tickets and share some tips and observations that might be beneficial to other visitors.

We were visiting Malta over New Year's Eve and as we were not sure yet on which date we could visit the Hypogeum, all of the online tickets were already gone. Worthwhile to note: In the less busy winter season the urge to book weeks or even months in advance did not seem to be that bad. Whenever I was looking up if by chance a ticket slot might open online, you could normally buy entry tickets 2-3 weeks in advance. This timeframe was unfortunately not working for us, as we were staying only slightly more than a week.

Therefore we opted to try our luck with buying a Last Minute ticket, which you can get for the noon and 4 pm tours of the following day (unless the Hypogeum would be closed on this day, e.g. because of holidays) either at Fort St Elmo in Valletta or the Gozo Museum of Archaeology. The location in Valletta seems, in general, to be more busy and therefore being on time can be important. We arrived about 45 minutes before the opening time of the ticket counter at 9 am and were lucky enough to catch the last 2 tickets for the noon tour. To be on the …

After 3 months in Bulgaria, where I managed to receive full Pfizer vaccination even though I am not a citizen or resident of Bulgaria or the EU, I flew to Malta on June 2, 2021, 2 days after my second dose (and my 3rd PCR test on the same day) and a day after Malta opened up for tourists, and stayed for 4 nights. 

This was my first time in Malta, and honestly I could not believe I had not been there after all these years of traveling in Europe. I didn't know what I was missing. 

As the site is already well described by previous reviewers, I'll focus on the practicalities. 

There is a helpful tourist office near the Triton Fountain in Valletta where I got all the info I needed to go around Malta by bus instead of doing online research for myself. I still can't rely on Google Map Direction alone as far as bus routes go. 

So I got on Bus 3 and got off at "Paola 2" bus stop for Megalithic Temple at Tarxien and Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. 

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum requires us to make online reservation for a tour of the site. Because the re-opening of the Hypogeum on July 1 was announced only a few weeks before, tickets were readily available online on any day, and I bought it 2 weeks before my visit. But I was outraged that the ticket price was 35 Euros! How can that …

Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is definitely worth the planning it requires to visit this underground tomb complex. Hypogeum literally means underground, and this site lay dormant and forgotten below the surface in Malta for almost 4,500 years, when it was rediscovered by construction workers in 1902. The complex became a site of great interest to archaeologists studying neolithic cultures in Malta, and within a few years it was also opened to visitors. The humidity and lighting they used caused damage to the hypogeum over time, so between 1991 and 2017 the site was closed twice in order to install systems to regulate the temperature and humidity of the underground complex. Heritage Malta also instituted a limit of ten visitors per hour to the tomb, which is why this site requires planning in order to secure a ticket to participate in a tour. Tickets may be reserved in advance for certain timed tours during the day, or may be secured as last minute tickets for the 1200 and 1600 tour on a limited basis the day before.

The tour itself was very informative, with a movie and a guide explaining the significance of the culutre and the hypogeum. After the introduction, we walked down into the tomb complex, with the guide leading the way. My group was considerate enough to make sure everyone was able to see the intricate carvings and chambers with their niches and lintels. The ocher paintings with spirals were neat to see on the ceiling, and the …

When I planned to visit Malta, Hypogeum was the most interesting site I really wanted to see. I did a reservation online even though the meaning of Hypogeum for me was still unclear at that time. I took a bus from Valletta to see the Hypogeum, the traffic was quite bad, and I arrived only 10 minutes before my scheduled tour started. After registered my arrival with receptionists and waited with other 9 people, most were English retirees! The guide hassled us to the exhibition room with modern video presentation, I felt it was a bit too similar with a show in planetarium with pretty bad sound effect and too sci-fi and mysterious themes, moreover it did not give much explanation of Hypogeum which I believed should be a main point what the exhibition should present.

After disappointed with the show, the guide leaded us to see the Hypogeum. The lightning display was top notch, however each personal audio guide did it best to provide worse and unnecessary sound effect of stone chiseling along the way. While the underground temple was really interesting and impressive, the experience to see it with other 9 people was quite not enjoyable. Even with such small group I would still consider it was too pack to accommodate. Many times, I had no chance to see what in the audio guide explained as others blocked my view. I could not blame them since the pathway was small and narrow, it was almost impossible to …

After being closed for a year (2016-2017) for preservation and renovation reasons, the Hypogeum is open for visitors again. Or more precisely, it's open for some visitors (80) each day. I managed to be one of those visitors in April 2019 on my trip to Malta and Sicily.

Walking up to the site through a modern neighborhood, I was wondering where the actual site was. Then I arrived at the museum, which is housed in one of those non-decrepit concrete cubicles. The cubicle does not offer any inside views, so there is little benefit to venture here without a ticket. Surprisingly, there seem to be frequent tourists, who did not get the memo and come to the museum without a ticket only to be rebuffed.

The Hypogeum tour starts with a short video, which can be booked separately. From there you get first views of the site through tinted windows. When the video was over, we descended into the underground temple. The lighting is well done and they have nice trails. The only thing to keep in mind is to mind your head as the ceiling is low.

It's a pretty large temple and taking into account how extremely old it is (3rd Millenia BCE), it's plain stunning.

Getting There

I walked from Valletta, as the site is seemingly in walking distance. But Malta is not a walking country and I would recommend simply taking the bus. Alternatively, check out taking the 3-City ferry. …

I left the Hypogeum with mixed feelings. It is a really interesting place that shouldn’t be missed when in Malta and there is no doubt about its outstanding value. Parts of the underground temple gave me a fantastic picture on how the over ground megalithic temples must have looked like. The restriction to 10 people per group is reasonable. The audio guide is very helpful. As I usually travel on short notice, a reservation online was not an option (tour booked out until 27 October when I arrived 14 August). So I much appreciated they sell 20 tickets a day for the following day in Valletta’s Museum of Fine Arts. The museum opens at 9am. Better be quick if you want a ticket as the tours sell out soon. What caused the mix feelings were the entry fee (now 35 EUR when buying in Malta) and much more that I didn’t have a chance to take a picture. I had to hand over my real camera at the entrance and my cell phone camera was not good enough for an illegal picture of the dimmed lighted areas. Further, the temple itself is quite small and not one bone or artefact was left inside. The place was not difficult to find. It’s signposted and you’ll get a map from the museum. There are parking lots close to the nearby church. Further, the Tarxien Temples, which belong to the Megalithic Temples of Malta WHS are within short walking distance, which gives you …

We booked our tickets to see the hypogeum in January for a July tour. Only 60 people are allowed a day in groups of 10. The tour starts with a general overview of how it was found. There is a small replica of the Sleeping Lady that visitors can touch. After this, visitors watch a short film regarding the history of the site. From here, visitors tour the hypogeum, which at this point is roughly 45 minutes in length. It is very dark and wet, so one should have proper footwear to accommodate such conditions. The tours are with audio whisper devices, with a tour guide giving enhanced information and answering questions. No photos are allowed. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip, and hope to see the Tarxien Temples next time.

I have visited this unique WHS several times. It is my favourite WHS in Malta and it is also considered to be the only underground neolithic temple in the world. It has only been discovered early in the 20th century and it is pretty much intact. Several archaeological remains have been placed in the National Museum of Archaeology to help preserve them better. The highlight of this site for me is the incredible acoustic effect that can be achieved in the main chamber, 3 storeys underground. A must-see in Malta but you have to book ahead online to be able to visit.

Hal Saflieni is an archaeological site of world significance whose “visit experience”, put in place as part of a major conservation project lasting some 10 years which ended in 2000, is worthy of it. If you are visiting Malta you should book ahead to ensure that you are one of those very few people allowed in each day!

The site consists of a series of underground burial chambers cut into the living rock through 3 levels to a depth of some 11m below street level in the suburb of Paola which is 20 minutes by bus from the Valletta terminal. You enter through what looks like just another terraced house in a side street to find that you are in a visitor centre built over the entire excavated site after 4 such houses had been demolished. The low key street frontage has been maintained, giving no impression of what lies within and below.

Each hourly tour allows a maximum of 10 visitors (and our experience was that even this is perhaps 2 too many!!). Look on the Heritage Malta Web site for up to date details and to book. Most of our group had booked as early as January for a tour in late April. A notice on the door indicated that the next 2 day’s tours were full – and, as I look again on May 2, the entire month is “full”! However, elsewhere there was reference to a procedure by which the first and last tours …

A hypogeum is a pre-Christian underground burial site (a Christian one is generally called a catacomb), and the finest and most famous of these is Hal Saflieni, located in the Valletta suburb of Paola. A visit there has to be planned well in advance, but this is definitely an unmissable and unique site. The building above the hypogeum is an ordinary house in a small street near the church (there are enough signs to point you there), and inside, there is only a small waiting room. The tour starts with an introductory video, and then small groups of no more than 10 people are led underground to enjoy an almost surreal experience. It is quite hard to describe, but you really get the feeling of being 5,000 years in the past and discovering a unique, sacred place. In short, go to the Heritage Malta website and book your tickets now...

I visited around the year 2000 when my travelling companion discovered the site. We were fortunate to get tickets as a walk in but had to wait several hours for our "group". i am so glad i saw it and no visit to Malta would be complete without feasting ones eyes on this quite amazing place. Awesome is one word, etheral even. One could well imagine harbouring visions of past residents lurking somewhere in the background. The detail in the carvings, the knowledge that went in to the construction. Mans ingenuity never ceases to amaze. I commend this place as a "must see" to use an oft used cliche. But this place really does qualify. I suspect any person, religious or not, will be moved by the experience.

The Hypogeum is tucked away on a fairly unremarkable street in the suburbs of Valletta. From the outside it looks just like another house, however what lies below is very impressive and reputed to be the only subterranean prehistoric temple ever discovered.

The Hypogeum is set out over three levels, the oldest being the top level. The second level is the most interesting with many chambers. Some of the ceilings are decorated with red ochre designs; there are many other rooms with lovely details and even marks on the walls showing how the caves were dug out, similar to the Flint mines at Spiennes. The Holy of Holies is the most famous part of the whole complex, and is very impressive; the architectural details are carved into the living rock, and give the only indication of what the ceilings of the many temples of Malta. It was on this level that the famous statue of the Sleeping Lady was found.

I found out later that there are several mysteries associated with the Hypogeum, one of them regards the finding of a secret chamber with a ‘bottomless’ pit sounding eerily like Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.

As stated above entrance is very restricted, only 80 people a day can get in, and when we visited there were no tickets available for the next 10 days. A few people were waiting for last minute cancellations, however they were not having any luck from the looks of it.

I enjoyed my visit, …

I was lucky enough to visit in Nov 2003. You must make reservations at least 1 month in advance. Only 45 or so people get to go in per day in groups of 12-15. The Hypogeum is a massive underground series of carved out caverns that contained the remains of more than 7,000 humans. Some red faded rock painting remains. Recent research indicates that this site could be as much as 12,000 years old. The film and informative tour guides insure a thorough understanding of the site but no photos are allowed. They lock up your cameras! Not recommended for claustrophobiacs. The site is a 30 minute bus ride from Valletta. Be sure to visit the archaeological museum in Valletta to round out the experience.

One has to pre-book a visit to this site, as only 80 people are allowed inside daily. Also, photographing is forbidden, so I can't show more here than its entrance and the ticket.

Is it worth all the fuss beforehand? Yes - besides being one of the highlights of Malta (together with Mdina, which still only is on the Tentative List), it's a unique construction dating from a very early age. Especially the "doors" are carefully carved out of stone, by people that didn't have metal tools in use.

There are a lot of mysteries surrounding the Hypogeum, adding some extra flavour to a visit. A trip here starts with a video that links this underground site with the many megalithic temples above ground elsewhere in Malta.