Walking in Madeira

Madeira, 15th edition (2024), updated 31/8/2024

Updates for walks and car tours (drives) on Madeira given below supplement those provided in the guidebook. It is vital that this Update is read in conjunction with the text of the book, but note that the Update applies only to the edition stated and not to any earlier editions. (If you have an older edition of this book , you can “upgrade” to the latest edition at half price.)

Information has been forwarded to us by users of the book, and Sunflower Books offers the data in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any misleading or inaccurate content in the Update. Unless indicated otherwise, what appears here has not been verified by the author or publisher, so please allow due caution when new or amended routes are suggested. Each piece of information is dated; bear in mind that some of the older observations may have since been overtaken by events or further changes. If, during your holiday, you are using the current edition of the guide and are able to provide any additional updating to add to this page, we will be pleased to hear from you. Please send information, preferably by e-mail, to info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk.

GENERAL

• IMPORTANT: As of August 26, 2024, the fires than have ravaged Madeira for over a week are completely out. The Rabaçal walks are open again, but many many walks are closed. Walk 19, from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, is open for the first 800m – the the Mirador Ninho da Manta, and the Horarios bus that runs to Arieiro (see below) has been reinstated. They are talking about reopening the path from Achada do Teixeira to the rest house below Ruivo in the next weeks, but the whole of Walk 19 is likely to remain closed for at least two months. For a list of the closed walks, log on to https://ifcn.madeira.gov.pt/atividades-de-natureza/percursos-pedestres-recomendados/percursos-pedestres-recomendados.html. ‘ENCERRADO’ MEANS CLOSED. Meanwhile the local newspaper has posted videos of walkers ignoring ‘closed’ signs at Pico do Arieiro. PLEASE do not walk in areas where tape has been put across the path (as some tourists have been doing!); there is not only the possibility of landslides, but the danger of rockfalls as well. DO THINK that the people charged with recovery have more to worry about than rescuing tourists — and possibly losing their own lives in the process. (Sunflower, 31/8/24)

• Overtourism is not limited to Tenerife, which made the British press lately. It is also a big problem in Madeira, especially in the most popular places for walkers, where people abandon cars – for instance the Arieiro road, above Rabaçal, Ribeiro Frio, Ponta de São Lourenço. For years we have been advising walkers to try other than the most popular walks, but now we realise that the car tours, with their picnic places, are a problem! You are probably not even able to drive past the Poço da Neve on the Arieiro road, nor the Balçoes path at Ribeiro Frio. The authorities are weighing up a number of answers to the problems of over tourism — of course they like the income, but the population is getting angry, with house prices off the scale, crowded roads, litter, etc. So the powers that be have been considering tourist taxes; payments for the most popular routes (already one is in place for Ponta de São Lourenço); creating more parking spaces with shuttle buses, for instance on the Arieiro road (it won’t work for Ribeiro Frio); walkers having to hire a guide for the most popular routes… This is a problem which affects most of the popular tourist destinations, not just Madeira. (Sunflower)

• A new bus service started on July 1st. Called SIGA, it gathers under its umbrella 3 companies: Rodoeste, Horarios do Funchal, and Autocarros da Madeira (CAM: a new fusion of SAM and EACL). Eventually it will have around 130 new buses. The livery of the new buses is white, with a blue and yellow design and the word ‘SIGA’ in large type on the side – with, slightly smaller, the words ‘SIGA/RODOESTE’ near the door of the bus.However, older buses will still be in use, and – to date – the websites in our book have not changed. The yellow livery of Horarios do Funchal in Funchal and suburbs will not change, but their intercity buses will change. (Sunflower, 7/24)

• On our latest trip in February ’23, it was disappointing to read in the local paper that so many walkers are disregarding the ‘no walkers‘ signs. There was a full front page about how more and more walkers are being killed or injured on, for instance, the Levada do Bom Sucesso – which used to be in our book, but we’ve taken it out. It’s not just walkers we are thinking about – during our time on the island it took 10 firemen to rescue a man who fell on the Tornos levada near Camacha. Even more were involved in extracting a body from the Levada do Bom Sucesso. And then there was the story of the closed Levada da Rocha Vermelha at Rabaçal – closed on account of vandalism (probably no tourists were involved). There was a reminder that there was no access to this levada by road, so everything – including the sacks of material for making concrete – had to be carried in on the shoulders of the workmen. The same holds true for injured or dead walkers – often the scene of the accident is far from a road, and stretchers have to be carried up and down mountainsides.As of  2025 the charge for Balcões, Ponta de São Lourenço and Rabaçal willl be 2 euros. There is talk of also charging for Pico Ruivo from Achada do Teixeira. We don’t think the charges are unreasonable, due to the amount of people on these walks and the litter, erosion, etc. (Sunflower, 3/24)

• There are plans to build a cable car between Curral das Freiras and Jardim da Serra, which the local people are fighting. We remember how plans for a cable car at Rabaçal were cancelled many years ago. (Authors, 3/24)

• Every single day there are reports in the papers of tourists having to be rescued in the most appalling circumstances. We really worry about people who use old editions of our book. Many people also ignore warning signs. The Madeira firefighters (who are in charge of rescue work) are really stretched. The more vocal of the local populace say a charge ought to be made for rescuing people who disregard all safety notices, whether in the mountains or at sea. (Authors, 3/24)

• There is a new service taking hikers to popular crowded walks and bringing them back again: see gettohikes.com. Seems a very good idea and far cheaper than hiring a taxi for a day or half a day. The price is not on the website until you book, but we think it’s about 25 euros. (Sunflower)

• Horarios do Funchal will now take walkers to Pico do Arieiro! Before you get excited about this, the bus only seats 31 people and leaves Funchal at 6am and 13.30, with returns at 07.00 and 12.15. Price 3€ each way. There will be another service at a cost of 1.20€ each way, on a shuttle basis, leaving from Poiso we gather. Information from the Horarios do Funchal website, horariosdofunchal.pt/en. (Sunflower, 8/24)

Car tours

Walk 1: Here’s a comment from a rather intrepid user: I started at Madeira Shopping. Returning to House No 121 from where we are advised to turn back, I turned right immediately and followed the route description in reverse, initially on roads then down the concrete steps to meet the Levada dos Piornais. I turned right and followed the levada upstream. The path is often narrow with exposed sections but it is passable for confident walkers. The views down into the Socorridos Valley are wonderful: the power station below, the pipe supplying the station and the long waterfall on the opposite hillside.  At one point the levada goes through a short tunnel. After about 40-50 minutes the levada path becomes much narrower with considerable exposure, at which point the route is blocked with a substantial metal fence and gate.  It would be very foolish to even attempt to go beyond this point. [Sunflower comment: Pat has always found this part of the inland Piornais too vertiginous to tackle, whereas she manages the stretch through the tunnels at Waypoint 1 which the user mentions next.] I retraced my route to the concrete steps and continued downstream. The fences and handrails are currently in good condition but this is still a hair-raising experience if you do not have a head for heights. When the route emerges at a signboard overlooking the Expressway do not turn right across the expressway but continue on the levada as described to Quebradas mini-market. The Piornais can be followed all the way to its terminus near the football stadium. Note that most of the way you are close to habitation but there are plenty of banana plantations and gardens, and views out to sea. (User, 1/22) [Authors: We didn’t detail the route from the stadium because so many users did not enjoy this “city” path.] • At the start of the walk, the school has been repurposed as municipal offices. (Sunflower, 6/24) • After the exposed part of the levada, the steps up were very overgrown and damaged in places. A fridge was balanced in vegetation above the steps, which we gladly noticed AFTER passing beneath it. We could not see the sign “Travessa do Pico da Lombada” by the house.Pinheiro boasts two bars – the second provided excellent sandwiches – useful as it was about the halfway point on our walk. (User, 6/24) [Authors: The update about the steps is worrying. Perhaps the locals no longer use the steps now that they have a road – but, on the other hand, the road has been there for years. It you are worried, best to do just the Alternative walk.]

Walk 2: We set off from the wet and windy summit of Pico Arieiro this morning to follow the Levada Negra down to Barreira. However, just after the path intersects a road at the 1,500m contour the path/levada becomes VERY overgrown and requires great care and persistence to push through all the broom bushes (small trees!). It was difficult to even see the ground and therefore stumbling into the levada was inevitable. After a few hundred metres of this the path clears again at around the 1,300m mark…at about the same time we emerged from the cloud! (User, 2/24)[Sunflower comments: The Levada da Negra is not one of the island’s ‘recommended walks’, so it will probably be one time before it is cleared –  but it will eventually be cleared, as long as the levada is still in use.]

Walk 6: Many more buses now appear to serve Cabo Girao, including those on route to/from Campanario and Ribeira Brava. (User, 6/24) • Alternative ending: these steps have now been cleaned and improved by the Ribeira Brava council, who say it’s one of the most symbolic footpaths on the island. They claim it has 1600 steps – if you want to count them! (Sunflower, 6/24)

Walk 7: Work will be in progress at Praia Formosa for the next couple of years. To soothe public opposition to the project, they will develop the largest public gardens in Funchal. (Sunflower, 8/2023) • Meanwhile, a new ‘road’ (really an elongated car park) has been built, and Café Doças is shown in the wrong place on our map. See the map below. (Sunflower, 6/24)

Walk 16 and beyond (walked 18/11/21) – a superb route can be created by extending Walk 16, using the waymarked PR24 and connecting paths to return you to Cruz. Walk 16 is an easy delight in itself but this circular route is more challenging and takes you into more varied terrain and the wilderness of the valley floor. At the road crossing (20min. point), this route is also signposted as PR24 (signposts to Lombo Grande and Sao Roque do Faial), although the large information board describes the route as coming from Sao Roque do Faial. Follow Walk 16 to its end at the Ribeiro Frio, c. 1h30min. Go down the stone steps where the levada emerges from a rock tunnel, go round the rocky promontory to the left, taking care on the boulders which may be slippery. (NB This may not be possible in very high river flows, in which case prudence suggests you return the way you came.) Rejoin the levada, but in a few metres, climb over a concrete wall to gain the suspension bridge and cross the river. If the river is low, it is possible to cross to the other bank over the river shingle. Either way, pick up the path close to a picnic table. This path undulates across the steep wooded slopes, gradually rising away from the river as it heads to Lombo Grande (c. 1h from the river). There are many steps, and the path is protected in many places by railings. Just 20m down from where you join the road, turn right down steps, with PR signpost ‘S. Roque do Faial Centro’. A few minutes later, cross the road-end turning circle, and descend steps to the left at the next PR signpost. 10 minutes down, join a levada going right and continue for 15-20 mins. At a double storey uncompleted concrete structure, turn right to descend with care steep concrete steps (PR sign ‘Vereda da Faja, 1.5km’) which lead in c. 20 minutes to near river level, where turn left (PR sign ‘Poco da Faja’). Continue downstream on a narrow path for c. 25 mins. (a couple of places where the path is narrow but steel cables are at hand), turn right downhill, ignoring lesser-used steps going up to the left. After c. 100m, turn left again, onto a level concrete pathway, then turn left at the first house, up a few dozen steps to join the road. Turn right downhill, and soon right again on descending steps (sign ‘Rua de Sao Roque’), continue on tarred track to the road bridge, cross the river and ascend a few steps (green railings) to turn right onto a concrete path parallel to the road. Some 200m. on, turn left up the first tarred and concrete driveway between houses. Turn left at the top of the steps to rejoin the road for 50m. then turn right up the steep Caminho de Longueira. Continue up concrete then cobbled steps, cross the main road and climb the last section of cobbled steps to a narrow lane which leads to the centre of Cruz and the Katrepas bar where you started. Allow 5 hrs excluding stops, c. 600m of ascent/descent, and 15km. (User, 7/12/21)

Alternative Walk 16 and Walk 25 (Walked 17/11/21). Allow 6 hours in total, c. 650m of ascent/descent, and 14.2km. A fascinating and varied circular route for experienced walkers can be made by joining up parts of Alternative Walk 16, Walk 25, and an unmarked path descending a lovely wooded mountain ridge. Start at Cruz, accessible by bus or by car. Follow the start of Walk 16 but instead of turning right, turn left onto the Levada do Castelejo, signposted to Referta (Alternative Walk 16 in reverse). At Referta, go through the short tunnel under the road, cross the main road from Referta to Portela and continue along the increasingly narrow path beside the levada. You can rejoin the adjacent road at various flights of steps. Continue on the road towards Quinta dos Leais until you see a steeply rising concrete path/track on your right, with a signpost ‘Caminho Municipal – Folhadal, Lamaceiros’ (approx. 1h35 from Cruz). Walk up this concrete then cobbled path, pass several houses, cross the Referta/Portela road and continue uphill though eucalyptus woods on the cobbled path (sometimes overlain by grit and leaf debris) until you join the PR10 (running trail signs at this point also). Turn right on the PR10 (Walk 25 in reverse). At the Cabeço Furada, once you exit the last of the tunnels and the dramatic rock cutting, double back to the right on a rising path (ignore another path branching horizontally immediately off to the left) on the route described as Alternative Walk 25 to Pico do Suna. Two minutes up, meet a crossing path, where turning right takes you up to Suna. Instead, turn left and follow the black dashed path line shown on the map, past the 792m. peak of Piedreiro. This is a stunning route, on a good, sometimes steep path, with wonderful views to the coast and the central peaks. It is used by mountain bikers for an exhilarating descent from Pico do Suna, so beware! Descend through laurisilva and eucalyptus forests to the tarred road and continue down to your starting point at Cruz. (User, 11/21)

Walk 17: For those who are sure-footed, an excellent complete circuit can be made, by bus or by car. Bus: get off the bus at the stop just east of the river (Sao Roque river in the book, Riberia de Faial on the maps). Do not take the road up to Penha de Aguia de Baixo. Just by the bus stop is a signpost ‘Caminho de Passo’ leading uphill on a flight of steps. 399 steps later you reach the turning circle at the end of the loop road going through Penha de Aguia. Car: drive up the Penha road and park in the turning circle at the end of the road as described above. From this turning circle, walk down the road until you find a steep concrete road rising up on the right. This takes you directly to the signposted start of the path proper.After the descent to Cruz, when you come to the houses at the end of the levada, turn right, away from the bar, and go west along a narrow street (Caminho Dom Sebastiao) for some 300 metres. Cobbled steps lead down to the  main road. Cross the road and continue down a series of cobbled steps and concreted drives through Longueira to reach the ER217 road at the bridge over the river. Turn right uphill, and after c. 150m, turn left onto the Caminho de Moinhos going past a number of houses. This will take you directly back to the bus stop where you started. For car users, you now have 399 steps to climb up the Caminho da Passe to return to your car! (User 11/21) 

The most most stunning circular route on the island?? Under Walk 20, at the 4h55min-point, you mention in passing ‘part of an 1800s trail to the Jardim de Serra via Pico Grande’ and that you know experts who have done it, but you have not. We actually met that couple in a restaurant in Funchal a few years ago, after I had tried and failed to follow the dashed line route of this path shown on your map from the Pico do Jorge end. Since then, in 2019 I followed it for a short distance from the Pico Grande end, and found that it had been cleared and there were a few waymark paint splashes. Last week, one of our taxi drivers said the path was open, and as a trail runner, he had used it. Today I walked it, and although it remains a route for experts, I reckon I have identified the most stunning circular route on the island – Curral de Freiras (well, actually Faja dos Cardos) up the PR2 (your Alt Routes 19, 20), around Pico do Jorge on Route 20, across to Pico Grande on the re-opened path, then down to Faja Escura on your Alternative Route 4. A brilliant day out. (User, 7/12/21)

Walk 22: After visiting Caldeirão Verde, we retraced our steps to the first tunnel and took PR1.1 towards Ruivo, as shown on the map. It is a lovely path, complete with hundreds of wooden log steps. If you like climbing steeply uphill for 2 hours it is great. If you don’t then don’t! At the junction with path on Walk 19/20/PR1.2 we turned left to Achada do Teixeira, got a car lift from a friendly walker to Pico das Pedras and then used the levada to get back to Queimadas. (User, 2/10)

Walk 37: We followed Levada da Rocha Vermelha well past the 300 steps, eventually spotting a steep path that climbed up to the PR13 Walk NE of Pico Quemado (the last bit back along the road from Paul da Serra was a bit of a trudge!) (User, 5/15)

Walk 43: Here is a pleasant extension to the walk, giving views of Porto Moniz from the other side. When you leave the levada near the end of the walk, turn right on the road to emerge just below the church in Porto Moniz. Turn right up the main road past the town hall. Take the first road on the left, Caminha da Ladeira, and climb steeply. Before the first sharp right hand bend, turn left onto a narrow concrete path sign-posted Vereda da Vigia. Follow this concrete path, with some steps and signs across the hillside, then a narrow grassy path to steps up to the Vigia – an old whale look-out point with a picnic table and views of the town and the sea. About 15 minutes from the town hall. Return to the main road and continue down into Porto Moniz. If you are staying in Porto Moniz, as we were, you can do the walk up to Santa and down again, taking in the Vigia on the way down. Going up to Santa, take main road up to the church, then the cobbled road to the right between the church and the town hall. Just above the church, at an old public tap and basin, turn left onto the cobbled Caminha da Pedra Mole and climb upwards to join the route well above the levada. (User, 2008)

SOME USEFUL TAXI TELEPHONE NUMBERS

24-hour taxi 741 412
municipal taxi ranks
Arco 291 578 032
Boaventura see São Vicente and Arco
Camacha 922 185
Câmara de Lobos 942 407
Caniçal 961 989
Curral see Santo Antonio
Encumeada see Ribeira Brava
Estreito 945 229
Funchal, centre 222 500; 222 000
Funchal, market 226 400

Funchal, west 766 620
Machico 962 220; 962 480
Monte 782 158
Palheiro Ferreiro see Funchal
Ponta do Pargo see Porto Moniz
Portela see Porto da Cruz
Porto da Cruz 562 411
Porto Moniz 852 243
Ribeira Brava 952 349; 951 800
Ribeiro Frio see Monte
Santana 572 540
Santo Antonio (Funchal) 743 110
Santo da Serra 552 100
São Jorge see Santana
São Vicente 842 238
Vinháticos see Ribeira Brava