Levada das 25 Fontes

If you only have time or energy for one, the choice is between the destination and the length. PR6 ends at the Lagoa das 25 Fontes, a lagoon at the foot of a rock wall where water from the Paul da Serra plateau emerges in more than 25 springs and falls into the pool all year. PR6.1 ends at the Risco viewpoint, looking at the Risco waterfall, which the IFCN board describes as projecting vertically and forming a white line on the dark rock.

Visit Madeira calls PR6 moderate and PR6.1 easy and suitable for the whole family. Note one conflict: Visit Madeira's PR6.1 page says 1.5 km, while the IFCN register says 3 km each way. We print the IFCN figure.

Also note that PR6 carries a one-way rule and can cause vertigo on its railings sections, so nervous walkers often prefer PR6.1. You can see the Risco waterfall from a bridge on the PR6 route as well, which is a fair compromise if you choose only PR6.

Why Not Do Both

The two levadas run almost parallel, so many walkers book both slots for the same day on the $10.33 (€9) one-day pass and let the booking system apply the cheapest rate. Risco is the shorter walk and makes a sensible second leg if the weather holds. The trails share the descent from the ER105 to the Rabaçal shelter before splitting, and both finish back where you started, so no repositioning is needed.

The other trails from Rabaçal, all open on the register, include PR6.2 Levada do Alecrim at 3.5 km each way, PR6.3 Vereda da Lagoa do Vento at 1.8 km each way and PR6.8 Levada do Paul II, a 1.2 km path built for all abilities. Nearby PR28 Levada da Rocha Vermelha is closed.

From the Trailhead to the Split

Both trails start on the regional road ER105 at GPS 32.75463, -17.13369 and descend to the Rabaçal shelter. The Calheta municipality puts the public toilets at the Rabaçal forestry post and says there are none further along. From there the routes split onto two parallel levadas at different heights, heading toward the Calheta hydroelectric plant.

At this altitude the vegetation is moorland of tree heath, Erica scoparia and Madeira whortleberry, with views over the Ribeira da Janela valley. The area is Laurisilva, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1999 and part of Natura 2000.

Along the Levada to the Lagoon

The path follows the narrow water channel, at first with a stone staircase beside the levada after a bridge crosses the Ribeira Grande. From that bridge you can see the Risco waterfall in the distance. The channel then narrows and passes through tunnels of heath with protective railings.

The IFCN board is blunt about this section: PR6 can cause vertigo, do not lean on the railings, and the stretch between km 3+300 and 4+100 must be walked in one direction only, following the signs. The current IFCN register applies the one-way rule to the whole of PR6. Give way on narrow parts and do not take unsigned shortcuts.

A left turn-off on the way leads to the Levada da Rocha Vermelha, which is closed.

The Lagoa das 25 Fontes

The walk ends at a lagoon in a hollow of the rock wall. Water from the Paul da Serra plateau emerges from behind the wall and falls into the pool in more than 25 springs, which is where the name comes from, and it flows all year. The finish point is at GPS 32.76551, -17.12538.

Your return is on the Bypass, the alternative section the register names for the trip back to Rabaçal, so the outbound channel is kept clear for the next arrivals. Take the same care with footing on the way back, and remember the toilets are only at the forestry post.

The IFCN register lists PR6.1 at 3 km each way from Rabaçal to Risco, open. The printed trailhead board gives 2 hours and a highest point of 1,288 m and a lowest of 1,000 m, without saying whether the 2 hours covers the return. Visit Madeira's page is the odd one out on distance, saying 1.5 km plus 1.5 km return, and calling it easy and ideal for the whole family.

We print the IFCN's 3 km, and Visit Madeira's difficulty word only as its own view. The trail follows the Levada do Risco at about 1,000 m to the Risco viewpoint, where the waterfall drops vertically and reads as a white line on the dark rock face. There is no one-way rule published for PR6.1, so you return the way you came.

If the Risco waterfall is your only goal, this is the walk for it. If you want the springs and the lagoon too, book both trails on the one-day pass at $10.33 (€9) shown in the ticket table.

By Car, the Only Route That Works

The Calheta municipality's directions to Rabaçal go the long way round the south coast, because the direct road over the top is shut. Hire car options are on our Madeira car hire page. The steps from Funchal:

• Take the VR1 from Funchal toward Ribeira Brava.
• Then the VE3 toward Ponta do Sol and Calheta.
• At the Arco da Calheta roundabout take the 1st exit onto the ER222.
• At Loreto follow the signs to Rabaçal.

Where To Park, and the Second Start

You can start the trails at Rabaçal on the ER105 or at the Caldeira leisure area, called the Garagem, on Estrada Dr. Roberto Monteiro, from where PR6.6 Vereda do Túnel do Cavalo runs 2.3 km down to Casa do Rabaçal. The municipality recommends Rabaçal for mobility and parking. The last road section down to Casa do Rabaçal is closed to private cars, so parking is up on the ER105 and the descent to the forestry post is on foot or by shuttle, covered in the shuttle section.

Parking capacity at the ER105 head is not stated. If you would rather not drive at all, a Madeira taxi is an option, and the IFCN board at the trailhead prints the number for Táxis Calheta, +351 291 822 129. On buses: no public bus to Rabaçal appears in the official sources we hold, so treat a bus-plus-walk plan as unworkable and see our getting around Madeira page for what public transport does cover.

The Município da Calheta runs a transport service over that stretch, at $5.74 (€5) one way or $9.18 (€8) return. Its hours are not published on the municipal PR6 page, so ask the municipality before you rely on it for the last ride up. The alternative is your own legs.

Remember that the road leg back to the ER105 comes at the end of the walk, which is when the $9.18 (€8) return ticket earns its price. The forestry post has the public toilets, and there are none further along either trail, so use them before you set off. Rabaçal sits on the Paul da Serra, which Visit Madeira calls the only plateau on Madeira, part of the Madeira Nature Park, classed as an area of rest and silence and part of Natura 2000.

Weather on high ground changes fast, so read the Madeira weather page and carry layers. If you would rather not deal with the road at all, the Rabaçal 25 Fontes and Risco hiking transfer handles the driving from the south coast.

Start early: slots are capacity limited, and on the narrow channel sections you walk at the pace of whoever is in front. The comparison, from the IFCN register distances and board durations:

The Levada das 25 Fontes is also called the Levada Nova do Rabaçal. Work on it began in 1835 and the first water ran on 16 September 1855, according to the IFCN trail board. The Calheta municipality says the two Rabaçal levadas run almost parallel toward the Calheta hydroelectric plant, and the IFCN board says the lagoon is fed by water from the Paul da Serra plateau that emerges from the rock.

The landscape is Laurisilva, the laurel forest inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999, and the board notes moorland of tree heath and Madeira whortleberry at this height, with views over the Ribeira da Janela valley. The channel is working water infrastructure, which is why the path beside it is narrow and railed in places. The levada walks guide explains how the channel paths across the island compare.

The Rabaçal trails sit in a west Madeira day, coming and going by Calheta, with the plateau or the north-west coast built around them. For a short visit, Madeira in 3 days slots a big walk into the plan, and the levada walks guide helps you choose between Rabaçal and the longer Caldeirão Verde walk or the Levada do Rei. Lock in the SIMplifica slot first, because slots are capacity limited.

Families should note that PR6.1 is the walk Visit Madeira calls family friendly, and Madeira with kids has more on walking with children.