Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

% View to the North
To the north beyond
the village, a road heads
up the valley, currently
ending just after it disappears
from view. There
are plans to tunnel
through the island’s
mountainous centre and
take the road to the north
coast, endangering the
tranquillity of the Curral.
) Village
The café owners will
urge you to try their
chestnut dishes (right) –
roasted salted chestnuts,
rich chestnut soup and
sweet chestnut cake.
Sample, too, the delicious
chestnut liqueur castanha.
View to the West
^ To the west is a
serrated ridge with three
prominent peaks: Pico do
Cavalho, Pico do Serradhino
and, highest of all at
1,654 m (5,427 ft), Pico
Grande. Beyond, the next
great valley runs from
Ribeira Brava to São Vicente
via the Encumeada
Pass (see p81).
( Chestnut Woods
The descent to the
village takes you through
chestnut woods (left).
The trees bear white,
sweetly scented flower
stems in August, and
produce edible chestnuts
in October. Lower down,
there is natural laurisilva
forest (see p23). In June,
look out for wild orchids.
& Footpath
To prolong your visit
to the Curral, you can
walk down to the village
along the cobbled footpath
(above) that begins
in the car park. The path
has 52 bends; at the bottom,
turn right and walk
uphill to the village. You
can return by bus 81.
* Road
Until the road was
built in 1959, the only
way in and out of the
valley was the footpath;
but even the road is little
more than a ledge cut
into the cliff face, and
with two stretches of
tunnel, it cannot cope
with big tour buses.
Pirates Ahoy!
Pirates were a serious
menace in the early history
of Madeira, which
is why Funchal has no
less than three forts.
The worst attack
occurred in 1566, when
the French pirate Bertrand
de Montluc, landed
at Praia Formosa
with 1,000 men and
plundered the city’s
churches and mansions
over a 15-day period,
massacring all who
stood in their way.
Montluc gained nothing
from his piracy, as he
died from a wound he
received in the attack.
Madeira’s Top 10 31