For our first
excursion, we made a late morning start up to
Pico de Arieiro (1,818m - the 3rd highest peak of Madeira ). It was a gorgeous sunny morning and we were looking forward to the spectacular views of
Pico de Arieiro. What is it with the lack of road signs on the island?? Buy yourself a good road map if hiring a car here and be prepared to take a few accidental
de tours. Once on the
mountain road, we just followed the windy, sometimes narrow road up and up. About half way up there is an obvious vegetation change - it suddenly changes to a sub-tropical climate (jungle like). I
wouldn't have been too shocked to have seen monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The further up we drove, the less we could see, we hit really bad fog/mist and rain. (we were in the middle of a cloud). It said that this would happen in the travel books but also said "at the top you will emerge above the cloud to find glorious sunshine and spectacular views." Unfortunately we got to the summit and still couldn't see 1 metre in front of us. I'm sure it would have been
magnificent if we
weren't emerged in a cloud. A word of advise if you are planning a trip here, leave early morning or late
afternoon (to avoid the
notorious midday rain)Very
disappointed we left and made
way North to Santana. Along the way we discovered a very pretty village called
Ribeiro Frio by chance. This delightful spot surrounded by woodland is the home to a trout farm. It is free to have a look around. If you pass through here there is a restaurant and a few small shops. There is a
levada walk situated at the bottom of the hill opposite the restaurant (on the left as you head down hill. We walked for about 30
mins but you can go further if you wish. Even though it was still raining, the views were fab.
In fact I think the rain added to the atmosphere. We carried on to Santana and found the traditional A-framed
houses. There are a couple of tourist ones that you can pop your head into and take photos. These are worth the trip if you like to explore the culture and traditions of the island. The north of the island and the mountain ranges are the wettest parts of
Madeira which is why
Madeira has so many
levadas (transporting the water from North of the Island down to the South).
Levada walks are
very popular in Madeira and there are plenty of them, they can offer some fantastic views and interesting walks. Good for exploring Maderias flowers and wildlife.
For our first excursion, we made a late morning start up to Pico de Arieiro (1,818m - the 3rd highest peak of Madeira ). It was a gorgeous sunny morning and we were looking forward to the spectacular views of Pico de Arieiro. What is it with the lack of road signs on the island?? Buy yourself a good road map if hiring a car here and be prepared to take a few accidental de tours. Once on the mountain road, we just followed the windy, sometimes narrow road up and up. About half way up there is an obvious vegetation change - it suddenly changes to a sub-tropical climate (jungle like). I wouldn't have been too shocked to have seen monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The further up we drove, the less we could see, we hit really bad fog/mist and rain. (we were in the middle of a cloud). It said that this would happen in the travel books but also said "at the top you will emerge above the cloud to find glorious sunshine and spectacular views." Unfortunately we got to the summit and still couldn't see 1 metre in front of us. I'm sure it would have been magnificent if we weren't emerged in a cloud. A word of advise if you are planning a trip here, leave early morning or late afternoon (to avoid the notorious midday rain)Very disappointed we left and made 
way North to Santana. Along the way we discovered a very pretty village called Ribeiro Frio by chance. This delightful spot surrounded by woodland is the home to a trout farm. It is free to have a look around. If you pass through here there is a restaurant and a few small shops. There is a levada walk situated at the bottom of the hill opposite the restaurant (on the left as you head down hill. We walked for about 30mins but you can go further if you wish. Even though it was still raining, the views were fab. In fact I think the rain added to the atmosphere. We carried on to Santana and found the traditional A-framed
houses. There are a couple of tourist ones that you can pop your head into and take photos. These are worth the trip if you like to explore the culture and traditions of the island. The north of the island and the mountain ranges are the wettest parts of Madeira which is why Madeira has so many levadas (transporting the water from North of the Island down to the South). Levada walks are very popular in Madeira and there are plenty of them, they can offer some fantastic views and interesting walks. Good for exploring Maderias flowers and wildlife.
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