Walking Madeira's Levadas: Exploring the Island's Mountain Waterways
Updated: Sep 23
A while ago I was in Madeira. I loved the place. Really loved it.
It is one of those islands where you can spend the morning looking out over the Atlantic and, within a surprisingly short time, find yourself high in the mountains, surrounded by forests, steep valleys and rushing water.
But the thing I particularly wanted to do was walk.
And not just any walk. I wanted to walk beside Madeira's famous levadas – the remarkable water channels which have carried water around the island's mountains for centuries.
What are Madeira's levadas?
If you have been to Madeira you will probably have seen them without necessarily knowing what they are.
A levada is essentially an irrigation channel, built to carry water from the wetter mountains to the agricultural areas where it was needed. Madeira has hundreds of kilometres of them, running across some extraordinarily steep terrain.
They were built over many generations and some date back centuries. Today, many of the paths beside them have become walking routes.
And that is what makes levada walking rather different from an ordinary mountain walk.
You are often not climbing a mountain at all. Instead, you are following the water as it makes its way around the contours of the hills.
The paths can be narrow, and there can be steep drops beside them, but the actual walking is sometimes surprisingly gentle.
That is not to say all levada walks are easy. Madeira is a mountainous island and some routes involve tunnels, steps, exposed sections and long distances.
But there are walks to suit quite different levels of fitness and experience.
Walking Madeira's levadas
I discovered the pleasures of levada walking on a Sunday morning when I went out with a lovely local lady called Lilly.
It was one of those experiences that stays in the memory partly because of the surroundings and partly because of the person you are with.
Lilly knew the countryside and, as we walked, she was able to explain things about the landscape that I would probably have missed if I had simply followed a route on my own.
There is something very simple about walking beside a levada.
You hear the water.
You walk through the trees.
Every now and then the vegetation opens up and you get a view across the mountains or down into one of the deep valleys.
Then the path disappears back into the forest.
And so it goes on.
It is not difficult to understand why walking has become such a major part of Madeira's appeal.
The landscape changes as you walk
One of the things I remember most clearly is how quickly the scenery changes.
One minute you can be walking through dense vegetation with the levada running quietly alongside you. Then you round a corner and the landscape suddenly opens out.
Madeira is a remarkably green island, helped by the amount of water that falls on its northern and mountainous interior.
The levadas are part of the reason you can see so much cultivation on what otherwise looks like impossibly steep ground.
Terraces climb the hillsides.
Banana plantations occupy lower ground.
Vines and other crops appear wherever farmers have managed to find a suitable piece of land.
And above all this are the mountains.
It is a landscape which is very different from the Madeira of the hotels, restaurants and busy streets around Funchal.
You don't have to go particularly far to get away from all that.
Some of Madeira's best-known levada walks
There are dozens of levada and mountain walking routes on the island, so this isn't intended as a definitive list.
These are simply some of the walks you are likely to come across when researching Madeira.
Levada das 25 Fontes
The 25 Fontes is probably the name most visitors will encounter when they start looking at Madeira's levada walks.
It is in the Rabaçal area and leads through the mountains to a collection of waterfalls and springs.
The official route is currently classified as a moderate walk.
It is popular, so don't expect to have the place entirely to yourself.
Levada do Caldeirão Verde
This is a considerably more substantial walk.
The official PR9 route starts at Queimadas and runs for 8.7km each way, making 17.4km there and back. The official walking time is around six and a half hours and it is classified as moderate.
There are also four tunnels along the route.
That tells you something important about levada walking in Madeira: this isn't always a gentle stroll through a park.
You need proper footwear, enough water and a realistic idea of what you are taking on.
Levada do Rei
Another well-known route is the Levada do Rei, in the north of the island.
The official route is 5.3km each way and takes around three and a half hours. It is also classified as moderate.
The walk leads towards Ribeiro Bonito, through areas of Madeira's Laurissilva forest.
The Laurissilva is one of the island's great natural treasures – an ancient type of laurel forest which survives particularly well in Madeira.
For anyone interested in seeing a greener, wilder side of the island, this sort of walk gives a very different impression of Madeira from the one you get around Funchal.
You don't have to be a serious walker
This is worth saying because the word "mountain" can make Madeira's walking sound rather more intimidating than it sometimes is.
Some levada walks are demanding.
Others are perfectly manageable for reasonably fit holidaymakers who are accustomed to walking.
But you should never assume that a walk is easy simply because it follows a levada.
Some paths are narrow. There may be sheer drops. Others contain tunnels where a torch is useful, and weather conditions can change quickly in the mountains.
The Madeira tourism authorities themselves advise walkers to choose routes appropriate to their fitness and experience, carry food and water, wear suitable footwear and turn back in heavy rain or strong winds.
In other words, treat a Madeira mountain walk as a proper walk.
Don't turn up in flip-flops because you are only going for a stroll beside a stream.
Things have changed since I made this walk
There is an important update to this old article.
If you are planning to walk Madeira's official classified PR routes now, you need to check the regulations before setting off.
From January 2026, visitors have to make a reservation in advance for classified walking trails through the Madeira Government's SIMplifica system.
For most non-resident visitors over the age of 12, the standard charge is currently €4.50 per person. Reservations are made for specific entry times, generally in 30-minute slots.
This includes well-known routes such as the 25 Fontes and Caldeirão Verde.
It is also worth checking the current status of your chosen route before setting off. Madeira's official walking information identifies trails as open, restricted or closed, and mountain conditions can change.
So don't rely on an old guidebook – or even an old article like this one – for the final word on conditions.
Check the official information shortly before you walk.
Why I want to go back
The trouble with writing about places afterwards is that you often find yourself remembering the things you didn't have time to do.
Madeira was like that for me.
I saw enough to know that I wanted to see more.
And particularly, I wanted to do more walking.
There is something very appealing about the levadas because they take you into parts of Madeira that you simply don't see from a hire car or the window of a hotel.
You hear the water running beside you.
You walk through the trees.
You look down into valleys.
You come across small waterfalls and channels cut into the mountainside.
And occasionally you meet somebody who knows the island far better than you do.
That Sunday morning with Lilly was one of those occasions.
I took a lot of photographs – which is why this old article originally consisted of rather more pictures than words.
But perhaps that is appropriate.
Some places are difficult to describe without sounding overblown.
Madeira's levadas are one of them.
So I'll leave you with the photographs.
And the thought that, given the chance, I'd quite like to be back there walking beside one of those little channels of mountain water again.
Planning a levada walk in Madeira
If you are going to Madeira specifically to walk, check the official trail information before travelling.
The Madeira tourism authority provides current information on classified routes, including their opening status, access conditions, distances and difficulty.
For 2026, remember that reservations are required for the classified PR routes and that the standard visitor charge is generally €4.50.
Take proper walking shoes, water, something to eat and a waterproof layer.
And check the weather.
The mountains of Madeira can be a very different proposition from the sunshine you may have left beside the swimming pool.
But if the conditions are right, walking beside a levada is one of the best ways of seeing the island.
And it is one of the things that has stayed with me longest from my time in Madeira.
