Our May 2023 visit to Madeira was a magical experience. After arriving on a quick two hour flight south from Lisbon, we soon found ourselves in a paradise of flowers, butterflies, steep mountain landscapes, flowing water, and adventure.
Our first stop after picking up a rental car and checking into our hotel was to visit a lookout point, Cabo Girao. Here a skywalk juts out from a cliff, 580 meters above the ocean. The cliff drops straight down, especially as we looked through the glass floor of the skywalk. After taking in the spectacular views, we drove to a spot at sea level where a waterfall crashes down on the road; we watched some cars drive through the waterfall. Then we stopped at Porto Sol, a colorful beach town, where we enjoyed a cocktail at a cafe overlooking the ocean.
The next day we set out to discover more of the island, which is small. Madeira is an amazing place to drive a stick shift. It is a steep, volcanic island with deep canyons descending from the mountains to the sea. Without the amazing bridge and tunnel system, it would be impossible to get anywhere. Yet the roads are super good quality and really fun to drive on. I loved that the speed limit is marked as 90 km/h but with a sign that says you get a 10 km/h bonus if its a sunny day!
Our day began by visiting the town of Sao Vicente, on the north side. The north side is cooler and more prone to clouds and rain. Soon we found ourselves on a beautiful beach. It was set at the end of a long valley that rose to steep, fog-shrouded mountains. As we explored a chapel atop a hill, the sun slowly illuminated up the terraced hillsides.
We next climbed up a narrow, winding road into the mountains. We could see the clouds flowing around the craggy peaks. As we turned north on a mountain ridge, suddenly we were surrounded by masses of yellow flowers, covering everything in sight. A high plain atop the mountains was swirling in fog, with windmills capturing the energy. Yet we had amazing views out to the coast.
Now it was time for our first Levada walk. The rain in Madeira is captured by the peaks, but the people live and farm in valleys below. To move the water, they have a system of aqueducts built into the mountain sides. These are called “Levadas.” Most levadas have walkways following the path of the water, which means that you have very gradually climbing hikes along flowing water, often covered with flowers. We started with a top-rated Levada trail, Levada das 25 Fontes, which started below the windy mountain plain. The hike is named for the culminating waterfall, which was spectacular.
Now I was hooked on Madeira hiking, and wanted the next day to try something really different. On the very eastern point of the island, the land pokes out into the ocean. It’s much drier and somewhat hotter, although tempered by a strong breeze. This is famous Ponta São Lourenço hike. Audrey decided to sit this one out from a perch at the trailhead, while I climbed up and down a series of reddish hills to the eastern point. It was photographically spectacular. Look for the little people clinging to the hillside—that was me! Afterwards, we went to another nearby miradoura (viewpoint) by car, and Audrey got nearly the same view without all the hiking. Unlike me, she was looking perfectly fresh!
Our hotel was really amazing, too. We stayed at Quinta Casa Branca. A “Quinta” is an old estate. In Madeira, they converted many estates into luxury hotels. These often have expansive botantical gardens on site. Casa Branca was a L-shaped modern hotel surrounding an old banana plantation. The central area was a botanical garden. The rest of the property had a restaurant with a great daily breakfast, a pool, and the original manor house, which had also been converted to hotel rooms. We loved sitting out on lounge chairs by our room, looking out over the property.
We found Madeira because I was searching for festivals in Portugal, and they have a flower festival in May, which sounded attractive. During the flower festival, there is also a classic car show. On Sunday morning, there was a classic car race through the streets just below Casa Branca, in the main town of Funchal. The race was timed, which just one car going at a time. The course featured rotaries, forcing the cars to squeal their tires as they accelerated around a circle to the delight of the crowds.
The town of Funchal is a perfect small Portugese town, and it was decked out for the flower festival. We enjoyed every meal in Funchal. There is really a lot to do in Funchal; I can’t begin to list it all and we didn’t have time to do it all. One highlight that Audrey really enjoyed was a pair of botantical gardens on the hillside.
I loved the Levada walks so much that I went on one final hike by myself, while Audrey relaxed at the hotel pool. This one followed two different aqueducts, one on the trail going out to a waterfall and another coming back. Often I was walking on the concrete aqueduct high up on a mountain cliff, but it always felt safe. People pass on the trail by temporarily jumping from one side of the water to the other. At the farthest point, there was a waterfall which you could walk behind, and then a tunnel to get out. I followed the higher trail coming back and it led through a flower filled meadow. I took a water break in the meadow and took an “Ansel Adams” in black and white as clouds started to fill in the valley. What a great conclusion to a spectacular time in Madeira!
