Mixta Cave

Getting to Mixta Cave on August 30th, 2024, wasn't easy. The heat was intense—35 degrees Celsius with no shade—and the trail up from Ramla Bay on Gozo (Malta's sister island) was a tough one. But the moment I stepped into the cave, everything changed. Cool air, total silence, and that view. It felt like stumbling across a hidden balcony carved into the limestone cliffs, looking out over Ramla Bay's distinctive red-orange sand below and the turquoise Mediterranean beyond.

Mixta Cave—also called il-Mixta or Tal-Mixta Cave—sits high in the cliffs above Ramla Bay on Gozo's northern coast. The cave was formed naturally over millennia as Malta's globigerina limestone eroded, creating this perfect natural window framing what many consider Gozo's most beautiful beach. Ramla Bay's sand is unique in the Maltese islands—that reddish-orange color comes from its high iron oxide content, unlike the rocky shores that dominate most of Malta's coastline.

I used my camera, shooting multiple exposures to balance the bright exterior with the darker cave interior—the 'Variable' shutter speed notation indicates I blended exposures for this high dynamic range scene. The light coming in was at just the right afternoon angle, giving the limestone around the cave mouth that warm glow, making everything outside seem even more vivid. The stratification in the limestone walls shows millions of years of sediment deposition when this area was underwater.

It's like the whole thing was carved out just to frame Ramla Bay perfectly, so much so that it almost feels deliberate—like nature set it up for this view. From this height—probably 150 feet above the bay—you can see the full sweep of Gozo's coastline, with the reddish sand contrasting beautifully against the deep blue Mediterranean and the green farmland beyond.

When you look at this photograph, I want you to feel that reward—standing in Mixta Cave's cool limestone chamber after the 35-degree hike, looking through nature's window at Ramla Bay's unique orange sand and turquoise waters, where millions of years of erosion created this perfect frame on Gozo's northern coast in Malta.