Heading for the heights of sunny Madeira
I staggered up the final few steps to the summit, clambered on to an obelisk marking the spot – and for a few moments I was the highest person on the holiday island of Madeira.
The panoramic views took away what little breath I had left. On one side I could see rainforests leading down steep canyons to the island’s wild north coast, and, on the other, dry valleys disappearing through the clouds to south coast resorts such as Funchal.
With its little concrete seats, crazy paving and dainty safety railings, the summit of Pico Ruivo must be one of the world’s most extraordinary picnic sites. I sat down to eat my sandwiches and gazed at jagged volcanic peaks and plunging rock faces in all directions. Madeira may be famous for cake, wine and as the birthplace of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is also a relaxed island, where visitors stroll around semitropical gardens and fishing villages. There are no golden beaches but the warm climate keeps visitors coming back.
With no major attractions to distract them, Madeira has become a favourite for walkers. Increasingly this involves guided walks along levadas – irrigation canals running for hundreds of kilometres around the mountainous interior. Often built by slaves or prisoners, these channels have helped bring water from the steep rainforest down to more gentle slopes for hundreds of years. Farmers use the levada water and semi-tropical climate to grow avocados, papaya and passionfruit.
However, the levada routes are a little predictable and unexciting, and their narrow pathways are also sometimes precarious and increasingly crowded. So more adventurous walkers have started to ask: can I go further afield?
My guide, Eduardo, welcomed the chance to show me some more challenging routes. His first choice – the Larano – started at the original Portuguese settlement of Machico, founded when explorers landed on the south-eastern tip of the island in 1419. Terraced fields rise steeply into the wooded mountains and we followed a path that was once a vital mule trail. It led to the dramatic pass of Boca do Risco where we took a break, and then the route twisted along the coastline. There is a safety rail but you’ll need a head for heights as you walk through colourful geological formations with the Atlantic hammering against black volcanic rocks far below. Eventually, we dropped down into the surfers’ bay of Porto da Cruz for a beer.
My week also included a hike at the eastern headland of Sardinha and a coastal adventure to the remote village of St Jorge. Then came Eduardo’s grand finale: the walk from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo, from Madeira’s third-highest peak to its very highest.
I followed this path via tunnels chopped through lava pinnacles, up steps bolted on to cliffs and along walkways chiselled into volcanic rock. The path is about 12km long and most averagely fit visitors could tackle the route.
After all those miles up and down volcanic ridges to reach the summit of the island’s highest peak, your legs won’t believe you when you tell them that Pico Ruivo is only 140ft higher than Pico do Arieiro.
British Airways (ba.com) offers return flights from London and Gatwick to Madeira from €134. For activities, visit mb-travel.pt.