Madeira 2012
Day : June
Weather: Sunshine and shadow
Route: Rabacal and the 25 Fontes - 7 miles (5 miles if you take the minibus)
Map: Madeira Tour & Trail Map - Paper Version by David Brawn 1:40000. Carta Militar maps are more detailed
Guide Book: Walking in Madeira - a Cicerone guide book by Paddy Dillon. Walk number 42
Rabacal and the 25 Fontes – where all the tourists go I’m shamed to admit. I looked over the brochures in the hotel room and looked when all the tours were going out this way and tried to avoid going at the same time. But resistance is futile and there were loads of other tourists down and about this famous spot. The drive up to the high plateau is worth it as you pass through great scenery and end up above the clouds. To be honest I was a little under whelmed with it all but it was an easy, lazy choice to drive over, park up and enjoy a little levada walking. To be honest if I had my time over again this is one spot I would avoid and I'm sure there are many more scenic walks just as easy to get to. But it was relaxing and at a very leisurely pace even for my snail like speed. At the end of it all we made the mistake of pulling in at the nearest restaurant The Jungle Rain Cafe - it was busy and of indifferent quality but it didn't spoil a good day and drive around. There isn't a bus service to this high plateau of Paul da Serra, so it's a hire car or an organised trek if you want to get up here. It's worth it as it's high enough to be above the surrounding clouds on most days, with blue skies above floating on a sea of white fluff below. The walk takes us along a couple of Levadas that run along the sides of this steeply cut valley to look at a couple of waterfalls - not a lot of water around today though.The best way down to the start is the minibus which saves a couple of miles of road walking, saves getting hot and bothered, and at the end of the walk do you really want to walk uphill all the way back to the car park? So unless you're a real tightwad get the bus.
If you really want a good story, and the inspiration for my trip here, then visit Because they’re there , a very fine walking blog written by Alen McFadzean (from his blog – Journalist on The Northern Echo, former shipyard electrician, former quarryman and tunneller. Climbs mountains and runs long distances to make life harder. Gravitates to the left in politics just to make life harder still. )
easy level walking throughancient tree heather, laurel, bilberry and broom bushes
plenty of purple patches
paths are well directed - the upper path takes you to a waterfall before returning to drop to the lower path
occasional glimpses of the Janela Valley are seen
ferns glowing yellow in the sunshine
growing out of the tree
I couldn't photograph the waterfall due to the direction of the sun
pleasant walking and the path drops down to a lower level
quite steep in places, but well laid steps abound
walking alongside the levadas through dappled sunlight
the route continues on the other side of the valley along the line seen in the picture
the waterfall is up the valley a little
reflections on a pool below the bridge on the Ribeira Grande
it got congested occasionally, but always room to pass as the path winds along the hillside
the valley is steep sided in places, but well protected
looking down on ancient heather woods
thick forested slopes all around
and long shady stretches
there are allegedly rumoured to be about 25 springs (fontes) here, but I didn't count
deep shade and bright sunlight don't make for a great picture
it's a lovely spot though and would be really enjoyable when empty of tourists
not much water cascading down
but some nice effects on the pool
2 of the 25
about as arty as I could manage. Time to walk back to the start
and drive back through some spectacular scenery - the high peaks are the Pico Do Arieiro, walk over to Pico Riuvo. Pico Grande is the pointy one.
they know how to work the allotments in Madeira