Madeira Island is part of the archipelago of the same name, on which the autonomous region of Portugal with the same name is located. Madeira is located in the north Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,000 km from Portugal and 500 km from Africa.
You won’t be bored on the island, because there are so many interesting things to see!
Madeira is so picturesque that it is a pity to waste time visiting museums and looking at buildings. Here you want to walk along the edge of the surf, cut by cliffs, go as far as possible into the depths of unrealistically beautiful mountains, wander through ancient relict forests.
There are a lot of attractions on the island, and it is unlikely that you will be able to pay attention to them all in one trip. But there are some interesting places on Madeira that you definitely need to see! They will be discussed in this article.
Cable car in Monte
In the historical part of the city of Funchal , the capital of the autonomous region, there is a beautiful garden Almirante Reis. This is where the cable car station Monte Cable Car is located – the exact address is Av. do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses, 9060-190 Funchal, Portugal. The upper station is on Mount Monte, at an altitude of 550 m.
The distance between them is 3.2 km, and the cabin covers it in 15 minutes. The cable car ride is the fastest, easiest and most spectacular way to the top of Monte. The cabins move slowly, so you can enjoy the picturesque panoramic views of Funchal where the road is laid at a bird’s eye view, and take a detailed look at the cute courtyards of the townspeople’s houses where the road drops very low.
When planning a trip on a funicular, it is important to take into account the weather conditions. If the wind is raging, the funicular does not work, and on hot days the cabins can be too stuffy – ventilation is provided only by small windows, there is no air conditioning.
Of course, the most comfortable trip will be if there are 2 people in the cabin, but if there are a lot of people, they seat 8 people in each cabin.
- Monte Cable Car operates daily from 09:00 to 17:45 (Christmas, December 25th – closed).
- Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office or from a machine. The ride is free for children under 6, €5.5 for teenagers under 14, and €11 for adults. By the way, it is more profitable to buy roundtrip tickets at once, in which case their cost will be €8 and €16 for teenagers and adults, respectively.
- Official website: https://madeiracablecar.com/.
What sights to see on Monte Mountain and what to do there? For €30 for two or €25 for one, you can ride, or rather, go down on a wicker toboggan sled – it’s quite safe, but an adrenaline rush is guaranteed. You can see the Church of the Holy Virgin and Monte Palace, or walk through the tropical garden near the palace.
Tropical Garden of Monte Palace
The Tropical Garden is one of the most interesting attractions not only of the autonomous region of Madeira, but of all of Portugal.
By the way, you can get here not only by funicular, but also by car or buses No. 20, 21, 22 and 48 (fare 2 €). This road is no less exciting: picturesque landscapes, steep climbs and unexpected turns.
The Monte Tropical Garden is a multi-level park occupying 70,000 m². It is home to rare plants from around the world: laurel trees from the Canary Islands , azaleas from Belgium, and heather bushes from Scotland. Peacocks, fighting cocks, and other exotic animals roam among all this vegetation. The park has two artificial lakes, which are inhabited by brightly colored fish, and black and white swans swim on their surface. Of interest are the various sculptures, stone lanterns, Buddha statues, and original pagodas. There is also a café offering free wine tasting. The park has an observation deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the capital, Funchal.
Separately, it is necessary to mention the 3-storey Monte Palace, which in itself is a landmark of Madeira. Now this building is occupied by a museum: on 2 floors sculptures are presented, and on the 3rd you can see an extensive collection of minerals.
- Address: Caminho do Monte, 171, Funchal.
- The museum is open from 10:00 to 16:30.
- The garden is open to visitors daily from 9:30 to 18:00.
- Entry is free for children under 15, but adults will have to pay €12.50 to enter the garden. Along with the ticket, you will receive a map that shows the various walking routes around the park.
- Website: https://montepalacemadeira.com/desktop/?sid=28&lang=en.
Nature lovers can extend their excursion and see another attraction of Madeira Island – the Botanical Garden.
Botanical Garden (Madeira Botanical Garden)
You can get to the Botanical Garden directly from the top of Monte Mountain. You just need to take the Cable car of the Botanical Garden of Madeira, the station of which is located at Caminho Voltas 15. This cable car operates daily from 9:30 to 16:30. The cost of travel for adults is 8.25 € one way and 12.5 round trip. For children from 7 to 14 years old, the fare will cost 4.15 and 6.4 €, respectively, and for children under 7 the ride is free.
You can also get to the Botanical Garden by bus directly from Funchal, the journey takes 10-15 minutes. Bus number 29 departs from the Pinga stop, and bus numbers 31 and 31A depart from the square opposite the Royal Palace. If you buy a ticket on the bus, it will cost €1.95, and with a pre-purchased GIRO card, the journey will cost €1.35.
The Madeira Botanical Garden can be accessed from two sides: from the east, where the city buses stop, and from the north, where the Botanical Garden Cable Car station is located.
On the northern side of the park there is an arboretum where you can see the diverse vegetation of Madeira. Among the plant oasis there is a beautiful artificial lake, there is a cave of lovers, and convenient paths are laid.
The central part is the most picturesque. There is a regular garden with green topiary sculptures and flower beds with bright flowers. In this part of the garden you can see more than 200 species of cacti and various succulent plants.
The southern side of the park, near the amphitheater, is planted with palms and cycads. It contains a parrot garden and a natural history museum.
- Breakdown: Middle Way | Good Success.
- You can visit the Botanical Garden and see the plants growing here any day (the only day off is Christmas, December 25) at the following times: from 9:00 to 18:00 from October 1 to April 29, from 9:00 to 19:00 from April 30 to September 30.
- Adults can visit this attraction of Madeira Island for €6, children from 6 to 18 years old for €2, children under 6 years old free.
Areiro Peak
Areeiro Peak (1810 m) is the second highest point in Madeira, located at E 202, Funchal.
You can get to the start of the tourist route by rented car or order Daniel taxi. From Funchal, the average price for a taxi is around 40-45 €, the trip takes 40-50 minutes. At the foot of Areiro there are 2 parking lots, from which steep winding paths lead straight to the top.
The weather in the mountains is very changeable, and most often by lunchtime the sky is covered with clouds. The trek should be started as early as possible – in this case there is a greater chance that there will be good visibility and you will be able to see the entire island from above.
In terms of clothing, you should definitely take a jacket with you, since the temperature difference between Funchal and the top of Areiro is more than 20 °C.
Cape San Lorenzo
Cape San Lourenco is the easternmost point of the island. This natural landmark of Madeira is a protected area.
San Lorenzo in Madeira is a must-see! It is famous for its amazingly beautiful lunar and Martian landscapes, completely different from the landscapes of the rest of the island. Endless spaces, unusual in color and shape volcanic soils, rounded boulders, high cliffs up to 180 m, the roar of the waves, as well as a fresh and very gusty wind that does not allow either the fertile layer or large plants to stay on the surface – this is how you can describe this natural attraction of Madeira. There are no tall trees or flowers, only low stiff grass, the same bushes and cacti.
On the cape there is a small oasis and a small beach where you can swim in good weather. You can also visit the ornithologists’ base and see how it is equipped. And then behind them is the last peak (183 m), which you can climb. There are observation platforms on the cape from which in clear weather you can see the Desertas Islands, which are part of the Madeira archipelago.
A walk along Cape San Lorenzo is included in the list of official routes offered by Madeira tourist offices. However, there is no particular point in paying for the excursion program. Its main advantage is organized transportation (30-35 €), and then a regular walking route that you can take on your own.
Attraction location: location: ER109, Estr. de São Lourenço, 9200-044 Caniçal, Madeira, Portugal.
You can get to the cape as follows:
- From Funchal (with a stop in Machico) there is bus number 113 of the SAM company – a roundtrip ticket costs 6.1 €, travel time is 1 hour 15 minutes. The bus arrives right at the place from where you can start the trek.
- The road to Cape Sae Lorenzo goes past the only natural sand beach on the island, Prainha. This road ends in a small parking lot, from which a walking trail begins to the easternmost point of the island. It is important to note that the parking lot is small, and the earlier you arrive, the more likely it is that there will be a free space.
In general, you need to come here as early as possible also because somewhere around 12 o’clock in the afternoon the sun begins to literally burn everything that is alive in this area. Shoes should be reliable, with a tread sole, since there are sections of the path without stone steps and with unsteady sand.
Viewpoint at Cabo Girao
The list of Madeira attractions that are definitely worth visiting includes another cape, but this time on the southern coast of the island. Right next to the village of Camara de Lobos stands the cape Cabo Girao (589 m) – the second highest in the world and the first in Europe. This is a very picturesque natural cliff with eucalyptus forests and waterfalls, standing right above the deep waters of the Atlantic.
Here, at the very top of the cliff, a unique observation deck is equipped – a real man-made landmark. It is made entirely of glass – the floor, the fences – which creates the feeling of flying over the ocean and the cliff itself.
Buses of the Rodoeste company go to Cape Cabo Girao – in the schedule they are marked “Vis Cabo Girao”. You can also get there by car, leaving it in the convenient large parking lot located nearby. A special cable car goes directly to the top of Cabo Girao.
Entrance to the site is free. There are several souvenir shops near the site, and there is also a center where extreme sports enthusiasts can try paragliding. At the foot of the cliff, in the fishing village of Camara de Lobos, there is a restaurant that serves excellent national dishes made from fresh sea fish.
Cape Ponta do Pargo
The list of attractions on the island of Madeira continues with another cape – Pontana do Pargo (312 m), located at the westernmost point of the island of Madeira.
The road to its top leads through a tunnel. If you stand on the top and turn your back to the sea, then on the right side, about 1 km away, there will be a viewing platform with a restaurant. It is a bit far to walk, as well as to drive around by car on asphalt, but it is quite normal to drive straight along a straight dirt road.
The main attraction of this part of Madeira Island is the old lighthouse, which rises right on the top of Ponta do Pargo. The address of the lighthouse is Rua do Farol 1, Ponta do Pargo, Calheta, Madeira. This 14 m high lighthouse is considered the tallest in Portugal. Inside, there is a small free museum where you can see photos and descriptions of Madeira’s landmark lighthouses, samples of lamps and lanterns of these lighthouses, as well as an installation of a map with lighthouses marked with flashing lights.
Lava pools of Port Moniz
On the northwest side of the island of Madeira there is a small town called Porto Maniz, which attracts tourists with a very special attraction: the coastal lava pools. ( Location: Rua do Lugar, Porto Moniz, Madeira 9270-156).
The molten magma flows that came to the surface and cooled by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean formed natural and water-filled pools near the coast. Due to the fact that the lava pools are connected to the ocean, the water in them is regularly renewed and remains very clean. And at the same time, it remains calm and warms up well – even in November, its temperature reaches + 22 °C.
The natural pools have been improved and made convenient for swimming: the bottom has been leveled, bridges and stairs have been built around them. Recreation areas and a children’s playground have been equipped on the coastal territory, as well as changing rooms, showers, toilets, and a storage room. For an additional fee, you can rent sun loungers. Lifeguards monitor the safety of swimming – there are quite a few of them here. At the exit, there is a beautiful drinking fountain, and there are several fish restaurants.
The most economical way to get from the capital of Madeira to the lava pools is by bus number 139 Rodoeste. It leaves Funchal at 9:00 and arrives in Porto Moniz, right at the entrance to the lava pools, at 12:15. The road goes through the mountain range, through Camara de Lobos and Cabo Girão with 10-minute stops at viewpoints. From Porto Moniz the bus leaves at 16:00 and arrives in Funchal at 18:30. A one-way trip costs €6.
A faster, but also more expensive way is to take a taxi. The journey will take a little over an hour, and the fare is about €35 one way.
- Entrance to the lava pools is paid: for children from 2 years old – €1, for adults – €1.5.
- Opening hours: 9:00 – 19:00.
- Official website in Russian: https://www.portomoniz.pt/ru.
Levada Caldera Verde
Walks along the levadas are very popular in Madeira – this is the name given to the artificial irrigation canals that run throughout the island and deliver water from the mountains to the settlements. The list of the most interesting sights includes the Caldera Verde levada, its location: Parque Florestal das Queimadas, Santana.
It is better to arrive at the beginning of the route early, even if there is still fog in the mountains, because a lot of people will gather later. You need to take a raincoat and a flashlight, and hiking shoes.
At the very end of the route, where you can see a picturesque waterfall, there is a turn to the Calderacao do Invierno trail. This path is more difficult to pass: a large number of steep descents and ascents, many tunnels, you need to go under the waterfalls. But all these difficulties are fully compensated by the views that open up to your eyes! In terms of time, both trails can be passed in 5-6 hours at a fairly fast pace, without long stops for rest.
Valley of the Nuns
The Valley of the Nuns, known to the Portuguese as Curral das Freiras, is one of those places in Madeira that you must see. This attraction is a natural depression in the mountainous area in the interior of the island, 13 km from Funchal. Location: Travessa do Serrado, Camara de Lobos, Madeira 9300-010.
Although excursions to the Nuns’ Valley are offered by almost all tourist offices, there is no point in taking a tour – you can go on your own on a regular bus, saving a lot. It is convenient to get here from Funchal by bus No. 81, which departs every 1 hour from the stop near the funicular on the Avenida do Mar embankment. You need to go to the Eira do Serrado observation deck, it takes about 30 minutes, the ticket costs €2.5.
It is from the Eira do Cerrado platform that the most impressive views of this natural landmark of Madeira open up! After seeing the picturesque landscapes, you can go back in an hour, or you can go down the path and stroll through the village, look at the beautiful houses, go to a cafe. And there, in the village, you can take a bus going to Funchal – each cafe has a schedule.
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