Route: Vereda dos Balcões
Area: Madeira
Date of walk: 28th January 2025
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.0 miles (there and back)
Ascent: negligible
Weather: Sunny
Earlier in the day we’d enjoyed a wonderful walk along the Levada do Furado starting from the small settlement of Ribeiro Frio and ending in Portelo. Having returned to the village by taxi we still had time for another walk starting from the same place. The drive to the village – at an elevation of 3,000 feet – had been a tortuous one and it made sense to make the most of our journey here
The short and very easy “there and back” walk to our destination, the mirador at Vereda dos Balcões, is a very popular one at any time of year, especially in spring and summer
An obvious sign at the edge of Ribeiro Frio points to ‘Balcões’ and we duly followed it along the course of the Levada Velha, which led us into shady forest. The path was wide and obvious, with none of the vertiginous drops which are often found on levada walks on Madeira
After passing through a rock cutting we followed a cobbled path signed to Balcões and a couple of minutes later we arrived at the spectacular viewpoint of Vereda dos Balcões, situated on a rocky outcrop which is paved and (thankfully) protected by fencing as there are huge vertical drops from here. The view was sensational, taking in the Metada Valley, Penha d’Águia, Eagle Rock and the central mountain range to the west
Having said that, the viewpoint was a crowded place and this distracted from the enjoyment. I wouldn’t recommend travelling to Ribeiro Frio simply to follow this walk, which is too short to justify the investment of time and effort to get here. As an addendum to our earlier walk it was perfect and rounded off a day well spent
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The start of our second walk of the day from Ribeiro Frio, as we pass by the Chapel of Our Lady of Fátima
We follow the sign to Balcoes at the edge of Ribeiro Frio
The Levada Velha which takes us into shaded forest
A taste of views to come
We continue beside the Levada Velha for a short distance
We soon arrive at the spectacular viewpoint, here looking across to Pico do Areeiro, nearly 6,000 feet high
Looking down into the Metada Valley, with Penha d'Águia (Eagle Rock) in the centre of the picture
After soaking up the views, we retraced our steps to the end of a short but sweet walk
