Gerry Sluiter English September 13th, 2010
Every Wednesday, we offer the Levada walk from Ribeiro Frio to Portela.
It is a well known Levada walk, and due to its location, very popular for walkers. After a short visit to Madeira’s Trout Farm and knitting stalls entering we the Laurisilva Forest of Madeira (UNESCO World heritage since 1999, covering 149.5km2 of Madeira).
During the walk you see all the Laurisilva vegetation with beautiful views into the valley located on the North side of Madeira (Porto da Cruz), and if you look into the Levada you might even see “baby” Trout’s.
Other than its popularity, it is also the most dangerous walk.
By studying the walking guide books, this walk is classified as easy or medium (even the local authorities are given this walk a grade: 2). However, most casualties are taking place on this walk (from cuts, brushes to broken bones)!
Continue Reading »
Tags: dangerous walk, guides, laurisilva, levadas, Portela, Ribeiro Frio, walking
MW Editor English February 1st, 2010
Translated from the Diário de Notícias (newspaper) 31/01/2010 by Madeira News Blog
Five pathways closed. In less than a month, bad weather and landslides have forced the closure of five footpaths and levadas which are included in the official walking circuit of the serras of Madeira. The official ‘Turismo’ site alerts walkers to the closures and the Regional Director of Forestry acknowledges that the renovation of such extensively damaged areas will be expensive. Levada do Rei, Caldeirão Verde, Caminho Real da Encumeada, Levada da Fajã do Rodrigues and Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal are the five closed footpaths. The worst affected is the Caminho Real da Encumeada, especially the section Boca da Corrida at Encumeada. Almost all the walking paths on the island have been damaged by the bad weather, the ones least affected are near the south coast and on Porto Santo. Before work can be undertaken, a survey will have to be carried out and a firm contracted.
Tags: dangerous walk, levadas, madeira, safety, walking
MW Editor English January 7th, 2010
Some walking routes in the island are in current undergoing maintenance to ensure the safety of walkers. Access to these routes may be limited or even not allowed so that these works can be concluded the soonest possible.
Please check the following link of the Madeira Islands Tourism site for more details of which walking routes are (temporary) closed due to restoration works:
Notice to Walkers
Tags: dangerous walk, landslides, levadas, madeira, safety, walking, warnings
MW Editor English June 26th, 2008
Angelus has published in his blog ‘Dias a Dois‘ a detailed walking experience to one of the infamous (sandy) beaches on Madeira called Praia do Larano, known by local people as Praia das Areias.
Angelus: “I wasn’t so sure about including it in this perverted guide, because I really don’t consider it a ‘dangerous mountain walk’, but then some people have sworn me it’s as dangerous as can be, and the popular demand has been so overwhelming that I decided to write about it. And hey, it is by far the most interesting and most beautiful beach inside Madeira island, so there’s one good reason for writing about it.”
Read the complete blog article
Tags: beaches, blogs, dangerous walk, Praia do Larano
