Nestled between Portugal and Morocco, flowers bloom year-round in Madeira, a landscape dotted with cascading waterfalls and lush green hills lined with terracotta-roofed houses. The entire island is like an amphitheater with the endless blue of the ocean as its stage.
Although you can drive around the island in three to four hours, the rocky beaches invite long walks, and the natural tidal lagoons invite you to wander. Here are the best things to do in Madeira.
A walk above the clouds
The island’s highlands can be explored on thirty-three well-maintained trails that meander for more than 480 kilometres. You can easily hike along the levadas, like rainwater harvesting and irrigation canals, and you can explore the peaks via hiking trails called viridas.
Vereda do Areeiro, for example, connects the two highest peaks on the island, Pico Ruivo and Pico do Areeiro. The seven-kilometer trek, which starts from the Pico do Areeiro viewing point at an altitude of 1,817 meters and ends in Pico Ruivó at an altitude of 1,861 metres, can be done one way in about three and a half hours, and along the way you can even see bird nests. Atlantic of the prey next to the panorama.
Much easier than this is Vereda do Larano, which runs almost entirely on flat ground, on the side of a rocky face, from where you have a great view of the ocean below.
Climb the waterfall
Those looking for more extreme adventures will also find plenty of things to do on the island, during rafting tours, for example, you can walk on individual rock faces with waterfalls using a rope attached to your waist, under the supervision of a guide.
Resting in a volcanic pond
Those who want to spend a more relaxing time can go to the beach, for example, to the turquoise sea baths surrounded by volcanic rock spiers.
Among them, there are basins better equipped than those in Porto Moniz, where you can find a toilet and other services, while in other places, for example Seixal, more nomadic conditions await.
Black Swordfish
One of the most frequently prepared fish is the peixe-espada-preto or black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo), which lives in the Atlantic Ocean and lives at a depth of a thousand meters, and is served in many ways: with crostini, in a sandwich or as a main course. It is said that the most delicious dish is available in Funchal, at O Calhau near the old town, but the dish prepared at the Avista Restaurant also has a good reputation.
Photo illustration
A sip of the legendary cocktail
The predecessor to the famous Brazilian caipirinha is Madeira poncha, which is based on one of the port city’s traditional drinks, rum. In this, the sailors preserved the lemons stored on board against scurvy, and to counteract the sour taste, they added a little honey: thus the cocktail, still popular today, was born.
Madeira poisoning
Speaking of liqueurs, we cannot forget Madeira wines, which, like Poncha, also have their origins in shipping:
The story goes that they sailed around the world with a few barrels of wine, and when they got back to Madeira they opened it and it tasted even better than it did before they left.
When they attempted to reconstruct the process, they ruled out that the ship’s vibration or salty sea air could have caused the spell, leaving the concentrated heat accumulating in the hull as the main factor. Today, instead of cold cellars, the warmth of Madeira is kept for years.
It pairs perfectly with any dessert, and one of the best places to try it is at Blandy’s Wine Lodge, which was once a convent and then a prison before becoming a winery, but you won’t be disappointed at Vinhos Barbeito, which pairs tradition with experimentation.
Skiing down the mountain
Monte Tropical Garden in Funchal, which can be reached by cable car, is worth a visit in itself with its gorgeous flowers, mazes and galleries, but the journey below is complete by sleigh for the more adventurous.
We’ve found Portugal’s most beautiful village, which few people might have even heard of, and these 10 gorgeous Portuguese places show their bright faces in the spring.
(source: arousing(Images: Getty Images, Unsplash)
landscaping | Ocean | fish | flower | vintage
get it
The whole essence of Mexico in one glass – Meet Tequila Ambassador Karina Sanchez
Immersive lights, shapes and sounds – that’s what Samsung’s new Smart TVs are
Order the twelfth issue of Roadster Magazine!
Summer has arrived, and with it the twelfth issue of Roadster Magazine has arrived. What do we find in it? We show you some of Sydney’s great places, explore Turin with the help of a local, try one of the latest bike trends, ride gravel, and test out the Mazda CX 60. We sit down to talk with Lissone’s leading architect, Gellert Tour, which is about to be reborn, and make Interview with Portuguese winemaker, Daniel Niepport, and sit down at a table with five sexy individuals. We interview perfumer Alessanadro Gaultieri, considered the most dangerous nose in the profession, one of Wolfgang Puck’s close associates, Tetsu Yahagi, plays the harp for us, and we visit the newly opened Budapest restaurant Ahn Tuan & Associates. peers. We’ll find out if ChatGPT can write the next bestseller, take a closer look at five breathtaking hotels, and introduce the stars of Scandinavian design. On the other pages of the magazine, we report on happenings in the worlds of travel, design, fashion, cutting-edge gastronomy and everything you can possibly be passionate about in life, to our usual uncompromising standards.
I’ll check it out because I’m interested!
