Route: Levada do Norte from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos to Cabo Girão
Area: Madeira
Date of walk: 30th January 2025
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 6.2 miles
Ascent: 1,000 feet
Weather: Sunny and warm
Today’s walk wasn’t the one we had planned. Earlier in the morning we’d driven to Boca da Corrida to start a high level walk to Fontes. We’d assumed that the devastation caused by the fires in 2010, which destroyed 8,900 hectares of vegetation, would have healed by now, but the surrounding landscape was barren and charred. There were huge views, however, and the promise of better to come, so we carried on for a couple of miles. We then had navigation issues so decided to cut our losses and return to the start of a walk that hadn’t been very inspiring, though I expect it would have improved later had we persevered with our route finding
We chose another walk on our wish list and drove back downhill to the small town of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos where we sought out the start of the Levada do Norte. Having located it (near the small church of Capela Do Calvário) we set off on our second walk of the day, hoping for a better outcome
With the levada on our right, we followed the narrow path beside it through Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and then towards a deeply wooded valley. This was perhaps the best part of the walk as the path weaved its way around the mountainside, passing under low overhanging rock at one point. We were conscious of the drops on our left which were never quite so precipitous as to cause vertigo, though we had to exercise care along the narrower sections
At the head of a gully in the valley we turned left to head towards the village of Garachico. There were lovely views over the the coast from here. Beyond Garachico the route took us through various small settlements, less scenic than before. Eventually we came to a tunnel on our right, approximately 300 metres long. We’d left our headtorches at the hotel as we hadn’t planned this walk, but the light from our phones was enough to get us through without any dramas
Beyond the tunnel we followed Vereda das Fumas until it brought us onto the road. We turned left here, and a 10 minute uphill slog along the road brought us to our destination, Cabo Girão, home to the highest sea cliff in Europe and a very popular tourist destination. We normally avoid such places but, having made the effort to get here, we paid our 3 euros and stepped out onto the glass platform, with the sea 580 metres below our feet. It was 3 euros well spent and a great climax to the walk. Thanks to the popularity of the place there’s no shortage of taxis and we took one back to the start (18 euros)
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We arrive in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and locate the Levada do Norte
We pass by houses in the scattered community of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos...
A view out to sea. Our route will end at the coast after numerous twists and turns
Terraced fields have been cut out of the steep mountain side...
We pass by a section of overhanging rock
We head into a lovely valley...
On the far side of the gully the levada takes us through an area rich in flora
Big drops on our left, with no protective fencing, make this a mildly vertiginous section of the walk
Looking back to the Levada do Norte on the far side of the valley
Estreito de Câmara de Lobos...
We head towards the sea...
The levada continues to weave its way in and out of gullies
View along the coast
We enter into a tunnel. As this walk was unplanned we'd left the headtorches at the hotel, but the light from our phones guided us through without mishap
As we near the coast we leave the levada and walk uphill along a road leading to our destination, Cabo Girão
We arrive at the viewpoint of Cabo Girão, the highest cape in Europe
There's a viewing platform from which to admire the views along the coast...
We cross the glass skywalk, in my case after some hesitation. This had been an unplanned walk, but it had been a great success
