Hiking in Madeira: a local guide

Madeira's levada network covers around 1,400 kilometres. The official Pico Ruivo summit routes are numbered PR1 through PR4. Most first-time visitors start with the wrong trail at the wrong time of day and end up cold, wet, and stuck behind a coach group on a narrow ridge. A few small adjustments fix all of that.

Start before sunrise on PR1

PR1 (Pico Areeiro to Pico Ruivo) is the famous one. The trail is dramatic, the photos are real, and the views are worth the early start. The view is also gone by 09:30 most mornings when the cloud bank rolls in from the north. I tell visitors to be at Areeiro at 06:30, walking by 06:45. The car park is free but fills before sunrise on weekends.

PR6 (Levada das 25 Fontes plus Risco) is the easier alternative. It is a flat-ish levada walk, family-friendly, and one of the most beautiful in the network. There is a paid shuttle from Rabacal that locals use to skip the steep descent walk back; saves about an hour and 200m of elevation.

Tunnels are real tunnels

Both PR1 and several levadas have unlit tunnels you walk through. They are real: the longest is a few hundred metres, the temperature drops about 10C inside, and you cannot see your hand without a light. Bring a head torch. An iPhone torch is not adequate. Bring a light layer; the tunnel chill stays with you for ten minutes after you exit.

Where to go next

For trail maps, difficulty ratings, and what locals do at each season, see the Madeira hiking trails hub at madeirahiking.org. The site has dedicated pages for the Best levada walks list, our PR1 + PR6 + Pico Ruivo guides with route-by-route notes, and a Hiking in Madeira for beginners primer for first visits.

By Filipe Pereira, Madeira local travel guide. Last verified 2026-05-04.