Madeira

Madeira is an archipelago lying 520 km off the coast of Africa and 1000 km from Portugal, of which it is an autonomous region. Formerly a major producer of sugar cane, converted to the production of famous fortified wine, nowadays Madeira has become an attractive tourist destination for beach and educational vacations for travelers from all over the world. Mild climate, evergreen forests, sandy beaches, mountain slopes, steep shores – Madeira has everything to be an ideal vacation destination. The archipelago has one minus – remoteness from densely populated continents, but many tourists consider this disadvantage a virtue.

Video: Madeira

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Geographical location and nature

‘ Exotic vegetation of the island
‘ Madeira’s steep shores

Madeira Island

The island is a trapezoid with maximum dimensions of 57 by 27 kilometers. Madeira’s average altitude is 1,300 meters above sea level. The largest peak, Pico Ruivo, with a height of 1862 meters, is famous as an excellent vantage point. Any physically fit tourist can climb it, but it is not recommended to do so in cloudy weather and fog. The peak is above the cloud line, and in case of poor visibility you may not notice the sparse fences and fall down. There are two ways to climb to the summit. The easier one is to drive to the village of Ashada do Teixera and tackle the 45-minute route on foot. The more scenic one is to park at the site of the neighboring Pico do Ariiru, 1818 m high, have lunch at a local restaurant, visit a souvenir shop and set off to conquer Pico Ruivo. Part of the way will be in a tunnel, so sportswear, comfortable shoes and a flashlight are a must.

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Once the mountainous island was completely covered with evergreen forests, but now, due to the rapid development of agriculture, only 20% of them remain. Madeira’s surviving unique laurel forests, or laurasilva, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. In the Garajau Marine Reserve, on the outskirts of the capital of the autonomy, Funchal, one can observe various species of dolphins, grindi, Bryde’s stripers, sei whales, fin whales, sperm whales, beaked whales coming close to the shores. In 15 km from Funchal there is an unusual natural object – the highest cape in Europe Cape Cabo Girao, reaching a height of 580 meters.

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‘ Laurasilva Reserved Forest
‘ A flock of dolphins near the shore of Maidera
‘ Cape Cabo Girao

Another, this time natural and man-made attraction of Madeira Island are the levada grooves. Due to the peculiarities of the climate, the southern part of the island needed additional irrigation for agriculture, so narrow canals were dug from the northern, more rainy part of the island. Along them were arranged paths – favorite routes for tourists. The first levadas appeared in Madeira in the XVI century, the last ones – 70 years ago. Their total length is 2000 km. One of the most accessible routes is the 7-kilometer Mimosa Levada, named so because of the plants blooming along its edges. More difficult destinations can be dangerous due to the narrowness of the path and the steepness of the cliffs.

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Porto Santo Island

The island is located 43 km northeast of Madeira and is 17 times smaller than it. Only 9 km of coastline in the southwest is occupied by white sand beaches, the rest are bare cliffs that drop into the sea. The climate on the whole island is dry, with chances of rain only in winter. The mountainous part of Porto Santo consists of peaks about 0.5 km high, in the southwest are concentrated 100-200-meter hills. Even the first settlers recklessly brought rabbits to the island, since then there is almost nothing left of its green cover.

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‘ The sandy beaches of the island of Porto Santo

Islas Ilhas Desertas

The archipelago is located between Madeira and the Canary Islands, 25 km off the east coast of the main island. It consists of three tall and narrow rocky islets. Ilhas Desertas is a nature reserve, home to various bird species, rabbits, the endemic wolf spider, goats and rodents, and requires a special permit to visit. Fresh water is available only on the Big Island, where monk seals rookery.

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