Day 0
Dublin -> Madeira ✈️
Called the “Hawaii of Europe” and known for warm tropical weather all year around, Madeira is located in the Atlantic Ocean and is around 500 kms west of Morocco, and 900 kms southwest of mainland Portugal. Before the Portuguese settlement in the 15th century, Madeira was not inhabited and it’s discovery is considered an important step in the history of Portugal.
Things Madeira is known for:
✅ Amazing weather 🌞 (All year round)
✅ Christiano Ronaldo ⚽ (He was born in Madeira)
✅ Nature (Loads of Hikes, waterfalls, forests, beaches)
✅ Food (Exotic seafood & fruits)
✅ Wine & Poncha 🍷
✅ Toboggan rides (Google about it…looks so much fun 😁)
Upasana & I wanted to beat the cold freezing wet Irish winter 🥶 and decided to come to Madeira for a 80 km trek starting from Machico to Ribiera Brava. The trek itself is going to be 6 days long after which we’ll spend 3 days in it’s capital city of Funchal to relax and unwind.
Today we landed in Madeira and checked in to our stay in Machico with a lovely room overlooking the bay. We walked around the village just amazed on how just a couple of hours back we were shivering wearing 3 layers of thick winter clothes and now walking around in tshirt and shorts! We sampled the local codfish and soup which was quite delicious 😋 and tried the famous alcoholic drink of Madeira called Poncha. Be warned, its a strong drink 😉
Day 1
Machico -> Porto da cruz
Distance -> 15 kms
We started our day by walking northwards along “Levada do canical” leaving the village of Machico behind us as we walk up the valley. Levadas are an innovative engineering marvel of Madeira. They are basically waterways built alongside the mountainsides and sometimes even cut via tunnels. They collect rainwater from mountaintops to irrigate farms, provide fresh water to villages down below and prevent landslides by channeling the water properly.
After the levada path ended, we climbed up to Boca do Risco viewpoint where we came across some stunning views of the North coast of Madeira island. The route from here on went westwards alongside massive sea cliffs overlooking the blue waters down below 🌊
On the way, we saw lots of fruit plantations such as Avacados, bananas and oranges. We had a lovely dinner at the popular seafood “A Pipa” restaurant in Porto da Cruz. The grilled squid and vegetable soup was fresh & of top notch quality! The Passinofruit Poncha didn’t disappint either as we spent the night listening to some nice Portugese music and watching people surfing at the Praia da Alagoa beach🍷🎵 🤗
Day 2
Porto da cruz -> Ribero frio
Distance -> 15 kms
The morning began with an excruciatingly steep 5 km long roadwalk up to “Miradouro da Portela” where we stopped shortly for a much needed break and had a refreshing Maracujo drink (Passion fruit) 🍑
All along the roadwalk, we were escorted along by a friendly street dog 🐕 whom we had started calling “Sheru” but at one point he got shit scared of a local street cat 😂 Eventually we said our goodbyes when the narrow trail at “Levada da Portela” began.
The walk from here on was all through the Laurissilva which is a 20-million-year-old subtropical rainforest and dates all the way back to the Tertiary Age. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is an invaluable environmental reserve with trees which are many centuries old. We were in quiet awe of this special place as we walked on narrow and sometimes a bit scary cliff paths as we came across numerous waterfalls and caves.
As we approached the village of Ribiero Frio in the evening, we were up amongst the clouds and we reached just in time for some delicious local authentic cuisines (Grilled trout, Bolo do Caco, Maderia tomato onion soup, Pastel da nata pastry, honey cake & Madeiran wine) 😋
Day 3
Ribeiro frio -> Casa de Abrigo do Pico Ruivo
Distance -> 15 kms
We knew this was going to be a long tough day ahead and we were not wrong at all. The hike from Ribiero frio started from a dense forest undercover where it was easy to get lost. We had to check our maps and make sure we were on the right track but once we reached near Pico Arreiro, the path became clearer.
It was hot 🥵 when we reached Pico Arreiro observatory around 1300 hrs and we didn’t really have much time to relax and have refreshments. We quickly stuffed oursleves with some sandwich & orange juice and moved on to Pico Ruivo which was still 7 kms away.
The walk from here on was simply breathtaking and sometimes we kept wondering if we’re in a movie set of Jurassic park or maybe on the planet Mars. The views were UNREAL!! Some of the sections were a bit scary especially if you’re afraid of heights. Luckily we had stocked up on water at Pico Arreiro because the endless ascents and descents required a lot of hydration. Oh btw, don’t do this walk if you have claustrophobia or if you’re afraid of dark tunnels 😄
We managed to reach Pico Ruivo (the highest peak of Madeira island at 1862 mtrs) for our overnight stay around 1730 hrs and just in time for a quick cold shower and watch the most amazing & emotionally touching sunset you could ever imagine! Another point to note, the hostel at Pico Ruivo is a government run place which doesn’t sell any hot food so be prepared to sleep with just a few packaged nuts and crisps. Oh also, there is no hot water and they turn off electricity at 1900 hrs 🥲 But to make up for all this, you’ll get to see the clearest night sky of your life ✨
Day 4
Casa de Abrigo do Pico Ruivo -> Curral des freiras (Nun’s valley)
Distance -> 10 kms
We woke up quite early to watch a mesmerizing sunrise above the clouds at Pico Ruivo and after having a quick coffee, we set out to what eventually became one of the most challenging hike of our life.
The trail began overlooking Nun’s valley down below and we thought we’d be having a nice lunch there by afternoon but just an hour into the path, things turned a bit tricky. We took a trail that we eventually realized we shouldn’t have. The start was bushy, overgrown and quite rocky in parts. We ended up going off route and reached a dead end of a waterfall with a vertical cliff in front of us. Luckily we had not committed ourselves too far and were able to retract and find the correct path.
Further ahead after an hour or so, we met a group of hikers coming from Nun’s valley and their hiking lead guide said he has never seen people ln this trail before and warned us to be very careful as the route is slippery and dangerous. We knew by now we had made a mistake by taking this route but it was too late in the afternoon to go back and change our route. The sun would set at around 6 pm so we couldn’t afford to waste anymore time but just keep going ahead slowly. There were parts that were extremely close to the cliff edge with no rocks or trees as protection. One bad step and the fall would be extremely fatal!
When we reached the safety of the forests down below, we finally felt relieved and began to talk about what really happened today and mutually agreed to never attempt something like this ever again. On the lighter side, we found fresh apples to pluck from trees and a beautiful spot where we decided to cool down under a waterfall to wash down all that sweat. On reaching the village, we got ourselves a nice local Portuguese meal with coffee & chestnut cake. Seriously, what a day! 🥵
Day 5
Curral des freiras -> Estreito de Camara de lobos
Distance -> 10 kms
Definitely the easiest day of the trek. We left Nun’s valley late morning after a relaxed breakfast soaking in the sun and exploring the quiet village center. The walk went through people’s rooftops and backyards and the forest climb up to Boca dos Namorados was mostly in the shade of trees and the mountains.
On the way, we got to capture some local flora & fauna such as chestnuts, wild mushrooms, red legged partridge & Madeiran lizard. One thing you notice while hiking in Madeira is the constant presence of lizards everywhere so if you have a phobia of lizards, think again before coming here 🦎😄
After reaching the top of Boca dos Namorados, it was a nice and easy descent down to Camara de lobos. It felt nice to spoil ourselves by the pool after a day of walking in the heat 🤗 We tried a popular local dish called black scabbard fish with rice for dinner which was absolutely delicious 😋
Day 6
Estreito de Camara de lobos -> Ribiera Brava
Distance -> 15 kms
Last day of our trek began with a nice breakfast spread by the pool after which we set out walking via Levada do Norte. This levada is massive and is basically the lifeline of a lot of villages along the way. We came across numerous fruit and vegetable plantations in people’s backyards which were being irrigated by the water from this Levada.
One thing we realized when we saw some sections of the mountainside had been burnt during the recent forest wildfires was that these levadas also become sort of a fire break because the burnt trees seemed to have only been above the levada and not below. This intricate network of levadas impresses me more and more as I spend time here in Madeira.
Upasana managed to “collect” a few fruits & vegetables along the levada walk from people’s backyards while dodging some crazy barking dogs 😂 but the food she prepared in the end was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. The freshness of these products was something you just can’t compare to the stuff we get in a grocery store or a restaurant.
We reached our overnight stay after a long day of walking and managed to see the sunset on the sea just in time which was a befitting end to this tough but rewarding trek. These 6 days & 80 kms of warm weather, unreal views, delicious food, tough trails & not to forget the lovely people of Madeira, have been nothing short of magical! 🤗
Indian Shamrocks ☘️ 