I first came to Madeira in the year 2000. Yes, I was very young, thank you. Since then, I’ve returned many times and I want to share my favourite spots with you.
Nature’s spa: Splashing around in the volcanic rock pools
Most alluring resort on the island? In a very crowded field, it’s Porto Moniz. Making a splash anywhere in Madeira is great fun, especially in the volcanic rock formations of this town at the far northwest of Madeira. Here, the raw materials of the island are clear for all to see. The lava has solidified into a superb series of tempting pools – nature’s water park.
You can feel the buoyancy the salt water provides as you drift around in the warm ocean water, admiring the scenery from exactly sea level. Part of the fun is being showered by spray from the Atlantic breakers meeting the first land they have found after travelling 3,000 miles from North America. An experience to be savoured.
Levelling up: The levada
(Andre Carvalho)
For my second pick, I’m going to the other end of the altitude spectrum and a Madeiran original. Since the first settlers arrived from Portugal six centuries ago, humanity has helped shape the island. Meet the levada.
The highlands of Madeira look like a natural wilderness. Yet they conceal a gigantic hydrological project with thousands of kilometres of irrigation channels and paths beside them, which makes for wonderful walking.
The levada is found only in Madeira. These channels were ingeniously devised to distribute water from the west and northwest of the island to irrigate the drier southeast. And now they distribute holidaymakers across the higher altitudes of Madeira. Many hikers become addicted to this simply beautiful way to travel gently through spectacular landscapes.
One of the joys of the levada is that you are walking on the flat. That has another consequence: some really tight swerves. The levada hugs the contour of the hill. Organise your own linear walking trip, using the excellent maps that are available and working with the very good local bus schedules. Either way, wear good footwear and you are guaranteed a thrilling journey.
Downhill fast: Basket weaving through the traffic
In third place: another experience you’re only going to find in Madeira: a gravity-assisted descent via a wheelless wicker car.
An abundance of altitude helps – as you discover at the pretty hilltop town of Monte, 550 metres above sea level. At the foot of the steps of the Church of Our Lady of Monte, you may feel…
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