Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

Around Central Madeira
76
View of Curral das Freiras
Curral das Freiras ^ A new road-tunnel now links
the valley village of Curral das
Freiras with the wider world, but
for breathtaking views, travel
along the old road via Eira do
Serrado. By taking this route,
you will also gain a sense of just
how isolated this community
once was (see pp30–31).
Pico do Arieiro & In the colourful landscape of
Madeira’s third highest peak you
can read the story of the volcanic
forces that created the island,
and the elemental battles
between wind, rock and rain that
eroded it into jagged peaks and
plunging ravines (see pp32–3).
A-framed Houses
The colourful A-framed houses of
the Santana district were probably
introduced by early settlers from
the farming districts of central
Portugal. Today they are used as
houses, or as cattle byres. On an
island of precipitous slopes, cattle
can easily fall if left to graze freely,
so they are kept in the cool
shade of the thatched palheiros,
to which their owners carry
stacks of freshly cut grass and
foliage at intervals during the day.
* Ribeiro Frio
The “Cold River” of this valley
clearing tumbles down the
mountainside to bring clear
water to a trout farm set in a
pretty garden planted with
Madeira’s native flowers. Some
of the trout inevitably end up on
the menu of the Restaurante
Ribeiro Frio opposite, a good
place to begin or end a short
walk along the dry levada to Balcões
(see p51). A longer walk to
Portela starts just below the restaurant;
you need a map and
guidebook to do the whole route,
but you can enjoy splendid views
of the dense green forest by
sampling the first stretch. d Map
H4 • São Roque de Faial bus 132
( Santana
Santana has Madeira’s best
examples of the traditional tim-
A-framed houses, Santana
The weather on Pico do Arieiro is often clearest in the first part of
the morning and in the evening, so plan your walk accordingly.