Levada do Caldeirão Verde

Queimadas to the First Tunnels

You start at the Parque Florestal das Queimadas, where the IFCN board marks parking, a shelter and toilets. Visit Madeira describes the shelter, the Casa de Abrigo das Queimadas, as triangular with a thatched roof in the style of the Santana houses. From there the path follows the walkway beside the levada, the channel built in the 18th century to carry water from the Ribeira do Caldeirão Verde to the farmland of Faial parish.

The forest is Laurisilva, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The board gives the trail's lowest point as 872 m and its highest as 1,020 m, and its elevation profile stays close to level as far as the waterfall. PR9.1, a separate 1.9 km path built for all abilities, also starts at Queimadas and runs to Pico das Pedras (IFCN register).

The Four Tunnels and the Waterfall

After four tunnels Caldeirão Verde appears on the left, and to reach it you climb a few metres up the stream bed. What you find is a pool under a waterfall the IFCN board calls monumental, 110 m high. Visit Madeira's page says about 100 m, and the board's figure is the one printed here.

The guided-walk listing describes the tunnels as unlit and the path as having narrow ledges, and the board's own cautions are tunnels, a slippery path and danger of vertigo. This is where most walkers turn round, about 6.5 km in on the board's elevation profile. The board gives the waterfall's position as 32.77424 N, 16.93636 W.

Reading the Board Before You Go

The printed board at Queimadas carries the three cautions that decide who should walk here: tunnels, so carry a torch, a slippery path, so wear non-slip shoes, and danger of vertigo. Its photograph shows the trocaz, the Madeira laurel pigeon, an endemic bird. The board lists Táxis Santana on +351 291 572 540, which matters if you plan to be dropped off and collected, and the emergency numbers 112 and Proteção Civil on +351 291 700 112.

For the way home it suggests the Casa das Tradições Madeirenses at Queimadas, a house kept like the traditional thatched houses of Santana.

The most important line is the duration. The board gives 6 h 30 and never says whether that is one way or includes the return, and Visit Madeira repeats the same figure. Walk it as a full day and you will not be caught out.

The distance is not in doubt: the register lists 8.7 km plus 8.7 km return. Difficulty comes only from Visit Madeira, which calls the trail moderate, and from the board's own warnings about tunnels, slippery rock and vertigo. The board's elevation profile runs 6.5 km from Queimadas to Caldeirão Verde, which is why most people treat the waterfall as the natural half of the route.

Visit Madeira calls PR9 moderate. The listing for the guided Caldeirão Verde walk describes several unlit tunnels and narrow ledges, and warns that it is not suitable for people with heart problems, respiratory issues or mobility impairments. Put the two together and you have the real character of the path: steady, wet, narrow in places, with the ground falling away beside you.

None of it is scrambling, all of it demands attention.

• The tunnels are unlit per the guided-walk listing, and the IFCN board says carry a torch. One per person, with a backup, is our advice.
• The path runs beside the channel with drops in places. The board says danger of vertigo.
• The board warns the path can be slippery and asks for non-slip shoes.
• The board marks toilets at Queimadas only. Water, food and a rain layer travel with you for the whole day.
• A walking pole helps on wet stone and on the climb up the stream bed to the pool (our advice).
• The guided walk does not take children under 8, which tells you how that operator reads the path.
• Mobile signal is not published for the route. Tell someone your plan and save 112 and Proteção Civil, +351 291 700 112.

From Caldeirão Verde, about 2,200 metres of more demanding path lead to Caldeirão do Inferno. The board describes a steep climb and tunnels, ending at the best example of a very narrow, deep river gorge. Our sum: turning at the waterfall is about 13 km of walking for the day, and the full route to Caldeirão do Inferno and back is 17.4 km, so the extension adds about 4.4 km on the hardest ground of the route.

The board's 6 h 30 is not labelled one way or return, so do not count on it covering the extension and the walk back. Turn round at the waterfall if the tunnels already felt slow, if cloud is building, or if your torch battery is the one you are worried about. The guided Caldeirão Verde walk is listed as a walk to the waterfall.

By Hire Car

A hire car is the most flexible option and lets you start early, which matters on a walk this long. Rental advice is on the car hire page and the wider transport picture on getting around Madeira. The IFCN board marks parking at Queimadas but no capacity is published, so arrive in good time for your slot.

If you are combining the walk with the thatched houses of Santana, do the walk first and the village after.

By Taxi, or With a Guide

The PR9 board itself prints the local taxi contact, Táxis Santana on +351 291 572 540, which makes a drop-off and pickup arrangement the obvious car-free plan. Fares are not published in our sources, so agree the price and the pickup time when you book. The taxi page explains how fares work.

The third option removes the logistics entirely: the Caldeirão Verde levada walk runs 7 hours, includes minivan pickup from the hotels listed by the operator, and is guided in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. Its listing states the walk proceeds regardless of weather as long as it is safe. It does not take children under 8.

If you would rather see the east coast without the full hike, the east tour that stops in Santana is in the tour list above.

Whichever plan you pick, add the drive to Queimadas and the booked entry slot on top. The accessibility path is the outlier: PR9.1 is listed on the register as Um Caminho para todos, a path built for all abilities, 1.9 km from Queimadas to Pico das Pedras, and it gives you the forest and the channel without the tunnels.

This levada was built in the 18th century, per the IFCN board. It starts in the main stream bed of the Ribeira do Caldeirão Verde and carries water through the Laurisilva to the farmland of Faial parish. The walkway beside it follows the channel, which is why the board's elevation profile stays close to level all the way to the waterfall across a steep valley.

The forest it crosses is the Laurisilva of Madeira, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. The board's wildlife photograph shows the trocaz, the Madeira laurel pigeon, an endemic bird of this forest. The levada walks guide compares the channel paths across the island.

Give PR9 a full day and put it on a good forecast. It pairs with the north side: Santana's houses on the way down, the east-coast viewpoints on another day. Madeira in 5 days and the 7-day itinerary show where a long walk fits, and rainy day ideas and things to do are the fallback if the forecast turns. Fit walkers who want more should look at Pico Ruivo or the full set of hikes.