Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)
Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)
Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)
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<strong>Madeira</strong>’s <strong>Top</strong> <strong>10</strong><br />
32<br />
Pico do Arieiro<br />
Mountaineering equipment is not needed to get to the top of <strong>Madeira</strong>’s third<br />
highest peak, because a road takes you all the way from the bustle of<br />
Funchal to the silence of the summit in less than an hour. The mountain top<br />
provides a viewing platform from which to look out over the multiple peaks<br />
and ravines of the island’s central mountains. Standing aloft here, you have<br />
a chance to study the astonishing range of rock formations left over from the<br />
violent volcanic upheavals that led to the creation of the island.<br />
The view from Pico<br />
do Arieiro<br />
There is a covenient<br />
café at the summit.<br />
Pico do Arieiro can<br />
be wrapped in cloud<br />
for much of the day.<br />
The best times of<br />
day for fine weather<br />
are before <strong>10</strong>am and<br />
after 5pm. Alternatively,<br />
you can take a<br />
chance on the clouds<br />
clearing for your<br />
visit. It is often possible<br />
to drive up<br />
through the clouds<br />
and emerge to find<br />
the summit basking<br />
in sunshine.<br />
Even at the height of<br />
summer, it can be<br />
cold and windy at the<br />
summit, and in winter,<br />
ice and snow are<br />
common. It is best to<br />
take warm and waterproof<br />
clothing.<br />
• Map G4<br />
<strong>Top</strong> <strong>10</strong> Features<br />
1 Ecological Park<br />
2 Ice House<br />
3 Sheep Pens<br />
4 Trig Point<br />
5 Footpath<br />
6 Café<br />
7 View to the West<br />
8 Volcanic Dykes<br />
9 View to the East<br />
0 Wildlife<br />
! Ecological Park<br />
Some 12 km (7 miles)<br />
out of Funchal on the drive<br />
up, you pass the entrance<br />
to the Ecological Park,<br />
where primeval forest is<br />
being restored. With its<br />
viewing points and glades,<br />
it is popular for picnics.<br />
Ice House @ This igloo-shaped building<br />
(above), 2 km (1 mile)<br />
south of the peak, is called<br />
Poço da Neve (“Snow<br />
Well”), and was built<br />
in 1813 by an Italian<br />
ice cream maker. Ice<br />
from pits like this one<br />
provided wealthy<br />
hotel guests with<br />
“snow water” in the<br />
heat of summer.<br />
£ Sheep Pens<br />
Livestock has been<br />
banned from the Ecological<br />
Park to allow <strong>Madeira</strong>n bilberry<br />
and heather to thrive,<br />
but sheep and goats graze<br />
around the summit and their<br />
circular pens are seen here.<br />
$ Trig Point<br />
A short scramble up<br />
from the café brings you to<br />
the actual summit, 1,818 m<br />
(5,965 ft) above sea level. It<br />
is marked by a concrete<br />
post used for measuring altitude<br />
and location (below).<br />
Buses do not go to the peak, but taxis will take you there and<br />
back for a fixed fee.
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