The land of eternal spring, the always green island, the green pearl of the Atlantic etc. Madeira has many different nicknames. Most of them are - in my humble opinion - terribly infantile and pathetic (one would even like to write - pompous) and do not fully reflect the complexity of the local climate. In the high mountains, one day is spooky hot, during the next one temperature drops only to a few degrees Celsius and it is hard to withstand without a down coat. On the same day, the unbearable heat can still prevail on the southern coast, the northern cliffs may be covered with dense fog and a cold drizzle may fall there. Sao Lourenço Pennisula, strangely "glued" to the main part of the island, is usually dry, without any rainfall, but often lashed by strong and cold winds. At the western ends, at the same time, there may be pleasant warmth and a "spring" aura (finally!).
Before visiting Madeira, I visited several other islands with - I thought - a similar nature and terrain - Gran Canaria, Tenerife or Majorca are also rocky, mountainous and all of them drop with steep cliffs towards the sea or ocean. Madeira, however, takes it all to a new level - I have never seen such large differences in height in such a small area and such an inaccessible shoreline. This is best demonstrated by the fact that the airport (probably built in the only place that was suitable for it anyway) partly relies on a gigantic, concrete platform supported on equally gigantic concrete columns. This example of extreme engineering can be admired when driving on the VR1 road, which runs under the platform, wandering between the columns.
By the way, driving around Madeira is a little bit different experience than on the other islands I've visited - I've never seen such huge amount of tunnels anywhere else making driving on the island sometimes boring, but without them travelling along the coast (cliffs that are several hundred meters high, cut in many places by deep, rocky gorges running inland) would last for hours.
Driving deep into the island means overcoming endless serpentines and endless, steep or VERY steep climbs. I even remember that in one place the car that I was driving had great problems moving up even in the first (!!!) gear.
Don't get me wrong, driving around Madeira is not particularly difficult, only more gasoline is consumed and you often have to wave gears (surprisingly often you drive using first two).
Anyway, the island is really pretty. In many places, the views are so beautiful that it is hard to believe that it really exists (of course, there are also places so ugly that it is hard to believe that someone could have built such a monsters). However, below we will focus on the former.
And now, the famous, legendary levadas ... Are they really so incredibly pretty? Well, in many places you can find really beautiful fragments, but most of the time walking along them is just... boring. Unfortunately, these impressive parts are simply separated by long, boring passages, where "nothing interesting happens". However, if it does not deter you, I suggest visiting the following routes.
A small hint at the beginning: if you are driving a car, it is best to drive to the end of the levada (Miradouro da Portela),take a taxi (usually a few are waiting at a nearby stop) and drive up to Ribeiro Frio, where the levada starts, then go down along it to the car on your foot.
The levada itself is fine if you are looking something for a easy but long stroll. By the way, the most spectacular fragment can be found somewhere near the end :)
Levada is quite pretty, it leads through a nice laurel forest and the route leads to the bottom of an impressive rock well. Water from title 25 sources flows through its walls filling small pond at the bottom. As a bonus, you can visit the nearby Risco Waterfall.
If anyone would see just only one levada on the island, let it be this one. If it is not enough for you, you can always extend your excursion by going even more deep into the Madeira gorges to reach Caldeirão do Inferno. Oh, don’t forget your headlamp - there are tunnels along the way (watch your head!).
In next part, we will take a closer look into coast and cliffs.