Hiking the Levadas

When you think of Madeira, think mountainous and lush with rich volcanic soil. When driving here, you will either be going uphill or downhill. Curves are almost constant, and you will spend much of your time crossing bridges across ravines or passing through tunnels under ridges.  The longest tunnel we passed through is two miles long. A large section of the airport runway is supported by a massive bridge structure to make the runway long enough for normal jet aircraft.  There is a YouTube site dedicated to aircraft landing on this runway because the frequent winds make landing scenic (tricky). We have found ourselves driving on some single lane roads, narrower, rougher, and steeper than our driveway at home.  In fact, these roads are so narrow that the vehicle's proximity sensors are sounding continuously as we drive down the center of the lane. And these are roads leading to significant public locations, not back alleys.

Hundreds of feet of airport runway are supported by pilings due to the steep and uneven terrain.  The space below is used for boat storage, tennis courts, parking, and a go-kart track.

After driving a long single-lane road to get here, Queimadas has a nice facility for hikers and a large parking lot; it is the start of one of the most scenic levadas.

Typical levada.  With lush vegetation, the levadas were shaded by thick overhanging growth.  Even on a warm day, the shade can provide comfortable hiking.

In places, the levada is chipped out of a vertical cliff; below may be a vertical drop for hundreds of feet.

At some points, the levada is tunneled through solid rock.  Dawn declined to go through one tunnel because it was so long, dark, wet, and was only about 4 feet high.  I went through, but had my hat knocked off in the mud at one low point in the tunnel.

This waterfall, Caldeiras Verde, is 110 meters high, but space was too limited to photograph the entire height of the falls.  My camera lens was not wide angle enough to capture it.

Typical north coast terrain.  Without the levadas, this area would be almost impenetrable.

One of the attractions of coming here is to hike the "levadas". These are small irrigation channels, often hewn out of solid rock, which bring water from remote ravines to villages and gentler fields.  Some levadas are hundreds of years old; others are new, still being completed.  Narrow paths accompany the levadas. Thus, you are walking through almost impenetrable vegetation, crossing vertical cliffs, yet following comfortable shaded paths except when that levada is tunneled through the solid rock of a ridge. Then you are stooped over to avoid the low ceiling, stumbling along the rocky/muddy floor, and hopefully getting enough light from your cell phone screen to see the next step in the otherwise pitch dark.  All great fun!
Today we went 13 kilometers total to a waterfall 110 meters high while also passing by several other waterfalls along the way.  Very rugged and wild scenery. We noticed trout living in the levada; thus, the flow must be rather reliable.  Most of our fellow hikers were German; perhaps experienced volksmarchers. With a trail only 2-3 feet wide, a tall rock wall facing uphill on one side, and an abrupt cliff dropping off hundreds of feet on the other side, hopefully you remember to use the bathroom before setting out!  No stepping out in the woods!

On a subsequent day we hiked levadas near Ribeira Frio.  These sites have easier access and less challenging terrain.  Ribeira Frio is a small village with a nice restaurant (good toilets) and some tourist shops.  The parking can be crowded.