Hikers go mad for Madeira, the Portuguese archipelago with some of the prettiest and most prolific walking trails. There’s a lot going on in these luscious landscapes, including the high-altitude Madeira Peaks and UNESCO’s laurisilva forests, which are ancient, subtropical and storybook-like in their beauty. Last but not least, because of its mountainous interior, local farmers needed to find ways to transport rainfall gathered at the top, down to the more arid coast. And they rose to the challenge as long ago as the 16th century, when they created irrigation channels to replenish their produce. These aquatic arteries now provide a cocktail of colossal trails and some of the best hikes in Madeira. It’s hard to choose our favourites, but here are our top day hikes from a fine collection.
Levada dos Cedros
This foray into the Fanal region is one of the finest ways to immerse yourself in Madeira’s laurisilva forests, which have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status. This misty marvel of a trail feels almost surreal when you walk through it, as the Levada dos Cedros is completely covered by a dense forest of centuries-old cedar and til trees. You walk it on day four of our centre-based walking holiday and day five of our levadas walking holiday, starting out with a transfer to Fanal Plateau (1,150m), the trailhead for the Levada dos Cedros. Due to its elevation, you may be met with rolling fog, which adds to the atmosphere of the adventure, but the levada trail is still easy to follow.
From here, you enter a world of ancient, moss-covered groves and natural tunnels, overlooked by forests where some trees have grown to heights of 30-40m. You are also flanked by steep slopes in parts, such as the right bank of the Ribeira da Janela, which is the longest river on the island, creating a valley over which you get some great views on this walk. You are also treated to a great dip in Cascata Levada dos Cedros waterfall en route, so pack your swimgear. The magical mystery tour comes to a close at Curral Falso, where you are met and transferred back to your accommodation. All loved up with Laurisilva and levadas.
Distance: 8km
Hiking time: 3.5h
Vereda da Ilha and Pico Ruivo (1,861m)
On our centre-based walking holiday in Madeira, where you stay in a hotel in Funchal throughout the holiday, you get an opportunity to ascend Madeira’s highest peak, Pico Ruivo (1,861m). With an elevation gain of 1,376m on this trail, you need to get in training for this one. After a short transfer to Ilha, where you join the eponymous Vereda da Ilha trail, the laurisilva forests lead the way for the first 5-6km, as you walk through heavily-shaded terrain, which can be muddy and with no views. However, the ecosystem soon becomes more spacious, with skies opening up (and clouds lifting hopefully) to reveal panoramic mountain and coastal scenery in the distance.
There’s a mountain cabin near the top for a caffeine hit if you need it, or for some cake to celebrate the summit, which is 15mins or 300m away. The descent to Achada do Teixeira has similar ecosystem shifts, and you’ll meet other walkers on the way up, as it’s also possible to start the ascent in Achada do Teixeira. There’s another cafe here, as it’s a meeting point not only for Pico Ruivo but also for the Vereda do Pico do Areeiro and Vereda da Encumeada.
Distance: 10km
Hiking time: 5-6h
Ponta de São Lourenço
The trek to São Lourenço Peninsula is short in length but not on spectacle, taking you to the easternmost point of Madeira’s main island, where its wildest and driest volcanic terrain awaits. With the Atlantic adding to this exquisite but almost eerie end-of-the-world feel. You can walk the peninsula on day six of both this hiking holiday and our centre-based walking holiday in Madeira, both offering a striking contrast to Madeira’s lush and green levadas. After a transfer to the starting point of the trail, where you immediately get a sense of the exposed, rugged terrain and can see why it’s also called the Dragon’s Tail.
You hike along the Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço, vereda being the name of Madeira ‘s walking trails (as opposed to their levada trails). The path is well maintained, especially as it’s part of a nature reserve, so there are wooden steps up to viewpoints, fenced protection along the estreito, or narrow headlands, with views across the north coast, home to colossal arches and sea stacks. As well as an array of birds, including Cory’s Shearwater, Bulwer’s Petrel, Madeiran storm petrels, buzzards and kestrels.
This route is an out and back trail, and the reward after some vertiginous and scrambly stretches, is a superb swimming spot at the bottom of this basalt peninsula, known as Cais da Sardinha. It can get busy, so starting this journey early is recommended in peak season.
Distance: 7km
Hiking time: 3h
Vereda do Larano trail and Levada do Caniçal
If ever the cliché ‘clinging to the coast’ fitted perfectly, the Vereda do Larano trail in Madeira is a clinger. And a zinger, when it comes to invigorating coastal walking trails. It was built over the 15th and 16th centuries to create a trade route between the northern town of Porto da Cruz and Machico. When you walk it on this levada hiking holiday, and this itinerary too, you follow pretty much that same route. It’s a demanding one, but not as demanding as it was for the workers who cut this trail into the cliffs by hand, working on vertical cliffs that tower 300m high above the crashing Atlantic Ocean.
As you continue along this magnificent walking platform, think about the many trades people who have covered this route on horses and donkeys over the years, transporting grapes, wine, sugarcane and fish. You get to rest, however, at Boca do Risco viewpoint, which is one of the highpoints of the day’s hike close to the end of the trail in Machico.
At Boca do Risco you get a mesmerising panorama over peaks and peninsulas, including the aforementioned Ponta de São Lourenço, on the eastern tip of the island. And also Porto Santo island, which is one of the other islands in the archipelago. Although the Verada do Larano is part of the Caminho Real which encircles the whole island, it’s well known as a vereda in its own right.
Continuing on from the viewpoint, the final stretch is along a calmer woodland track which brings you down to the luscious Levada do Caniçal as far as the coastal town of Caniçal on this walking holiday, with a transfer back to Machico, or walk all the way to Machico on this walking itinerary (a further 5km).
Distance: 15km
Hiking time: 4.5-5h
Levada do Caldeirão Verde
This day trek takes you along Madeira’s most famous levada through laurisilva forests to the iconic 80m waterfall and lagoon after which the levada is named. You get to walk along the Levada do Caldeirão Verde on this Madeira walking holiday, which covers 13.5km of the levada, with a transfer to and from Santana. Or walk a bit more of it on our centre-based walking holiday, covering 19.7km on an out-and-back trail, with a transfer to and from Funchal. Walking at elevations between 900-980m, you also walk through underground tunnels at some points, so you need a torch, with trails finally opening out to a luscious landscape of all round Madeiran gorgeousness. Whichever you choose, the Caldeirão Verde is always colossal.
Distance: 13.5/19.7km
Hiking time: 3/5h
Santana to São Jorge, Caminho Real
This section of the aforementioned Caminho Real, an 182km path that encircles Madeira Island, takes you along the north coast. It’s quite the wake-up call to just how wild and wonderful Madeira is, as it’s your first trail on this walking holiday. Starting in Santana, where you spend the first few nights of this tour, you usually walk straight from the hotel (if staying at Quinta do Furão) onto the trail, heading east on an historic and handsome route that has been shaped by the Atlantic.
You’ll definitely have blown off the cobwebs at the end of this trail which, although short, takes you quickly up onto clifftops, along cobbled tracks and to ancient settlements. With sea views in one direction, and the Ruivo Mountains in the other, sometimes it’s hard to know which ones give the best adrenaline rush. The views from Miradouro da Beira da Quinta give a mighty good natural kick, for sure.
This introductory day of hiking culminates in São Jorge, where we highly recommend a visit to Roseiral da Quinta do Arco, home to Portugal’s largest collection of roses (open April-November). On this hike, there is also a natural pools complex, highly recommended over the rocky beach, because it can suffer from big north coast swells. At the end of the day, you are transferred back to your accommodation in Santana.
Distance: 5.5km
Hiking time: 1-2h
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this quick summary of some of our best day hikes in Madeira and that it inspires you to delve more deeply into its extremely unique walking trails. For more information, here are all of our Madeira walking and cycling holidays, or please don’t hesitate to contact our adventure specialists. You may also enjoy our blogs, Levadas are a gift to hikers and Reasons to go walking in Madeira.
