Levadas or Water Canals

The best way to discover the Island

The Levadas extend over 2.150 km in the whole Island. They carry water for domestic and industrial uses, as well as supplying the hydro electric power stations.
The Levadas have in most cases paths alongside them and sometimes they are the only access in order to reach the more secluded and primitive places of the Madeira forest like Caldeirão Verde in Santana.
The reason for building them was to transport water from the north side of the island, where water was more plentiful to the south side where water was less abundant. Here it was more needed because of the concentration of the population in the south and therefore the need to water their crops. Levadas started to be built in the XVI century and the most recent ones in the 1940s. They represent an extraordinary work; hewn out of the rock by men suspended over the rock face using very rudimental tools. They worked in perilous conditions demanding physical effort and enormous courage.
Nowadays, Levadas are one of the major attractions of Madeira. They are sought out by walkers who can enjoy all the beauty of the landscape that Madeira has to offer its visitors. Some of the more well known are Levada do Caldeirão Verde,  Levada da Serra do Faial and Balcões (Santana),  Levada do Risco and 25 Fontes (Rabaçal).
The knowledgeable environmentalist Eng Rui Vieira asserted that “Levadas” are the most important expression of the identity of Madeira”. In fact Levadas are an unbelievable evidence of the skilful and friendly people who built them and left them as a heritage to the islanders helping to promote Madeira abroad.

Advice to Walkers
Walking on Madeira and Porto Santo
 

First and foremost, walking on Madeira and the adjacent island of Porto Santo is invigorating, exciting and hugely rewarding. Any regular walker will find the Madeira Islands both a challenge and a delight, and, we hope, a pleasant surprise.

Madeira is a volcanic island rising from the very significant depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and the result is a wonderfully convoluted landscape that will enchant any walker. It is breathtaking in every sense of the word. But it is so rewarding, too.
At one extreme there are walks that follow the course of the levadas, ancient water courses that ingeniously serpent their way across the island, always gently descending, and often in the most spectacular setting. At the other extreme, the summits that gather round Pico Ruivo are craggy and rugged, networked with rocky footpaths.

WALKS - It is vital that you choose only those walks that are most suited to your own standard of fitness and experience. Most walks involve varying amounts of 'up and down'; some are circular, some linear. All are outstanding, but walkers who do not have a good head for heights or are unaccustomed to occasionally steep ascents and descents, should avoid the more difficult walks.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING - In January, it can rain and it can scorch. You need to be prepared for both, although the average temperature in Madeira rarely falls below 15˚C.
All walkers must carry a day sack containing waterproofs, a hat, gloves, spare clothing, whistle, food and drink, the relevant map and a compass. On some walks you will also find a torch useful, as some of the levada walks pass through tunnels. You may also need to carry sun cream.
It is essential that walking boots are worn for all walks. Walk leaders have the right to decline to accept on any walk persons whose footwear may, in their opinion, be potentially hazardous.
Please also bear in mind that some paths may be overgrown and/or are flanked by bushes and brambles.

CHILDREN - Children should be accompanied by an adult on all walks.

Code of conduct and Safety Regulations
 

Taking a walk on the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo is reinvigorating, exciting and highly rewarding. Any hiker will find in the trails and levadas (man-made waterways across the mountains) of Madeira a challenge as well as a pleasant surprise. However, most trails pass through mountains in the heart of nature, and for this reason it is very important to get adequately prepared before starting a hike, so that you do not jeopardise your own safety.
Here we shall mention some codes of conduct and safety regulations that should always be followed.

Walking Code:
• Avoid noise or actions against nature
• Do not take plants or animals with you
• Do not throw rubbish away (tissues do not easily decompose)
• Do not light fires
• If you are a smoker do not throw cigarettes ends on the floor, keep them for the dust-bin
• Do not change or damage the signs

For your own safety...
• Before starting out make sure you have update instructions on the route
• Let someone else know where you’re going and when you expect to return
• Be sure to confirm the time it will take so that you can finish before nightfall
• Take some extra food and water with you
• Wear suitable clothes and shoes
• If possible take a mobile phone with you
• In case of heavy rain or strong winds do not go on and/or turn back using the same route
• Don’t take risks

Contacts:
• Emergency number: 112
• Civil Protection: 291 700 112

The recommended routes for hikes within the Autonomous Region of Madeira are considered as small routes (PR). These are duly identified and described so that the users may, right from the start, be aware of the reality they will find. The trails are maintained, inspected and signposted by regional governmental organisations, especially by the Direcção Regional de Florestas (Regional Forest Board), which has helped by transferring some content through one of their projects, the Tourmac Project.
The walking routes recommended in the Autonomous Region of Madeira have been established and regulated by Regional Legislative Decree no. 7-B/200/M.