Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

! Ribeira Brava
Ribeira Brava (literally, “Wild
River”) is one of the island’s oldest
towns, well established as a
centre of sugar production by
the 1440s. The large parish
church has sculpture dating from
the 1480s. At the other end of
the village is the Museu Etnográfico
da Madeira (see p39), with a
small shop selling Madeiran
crafts. d Map D5 • Rodoeste buses 4,
6, 7, 80, 107, 115, 139 and 142
Boca da Encumeada @ The Encumeada Pass is a
saddle of rock forming the watershed
between the north and
south of the island. Clouds from
the north often spill over the lip
of the mountains, like dry ice
pouring from a flask. Wherever
you look, there are majestic
peaks, from Pico Grande in the
east to cone-shaped Crista de
Galo in the west. Just south of
the pass is the Levada do Norte
(signposted “Folhadel”), which
offers a lovely 15-minute walk to
the point where it enters a tunnel.
d Map E3 • Rodoeste buses 6 and 139
£ São Vicente
This pretty village on the
northern side of the Encumeada
Pass demands to be captured in
paint; deep-green shutters, doors
and balconies, with stone lintels
and frames of ox-blood red, are
set in white-walled houses along
the grey basalt streets. d Map E2
• Rodoeste buses 6 and 139
Boca da Encumeada – the view south
$ Seixal
Most of the coastal road now
runs through tunnels, but Seixal is
one of the few places where you
can still get a sense of the north
coast’s visual splendour. Tall cliffs
stretching into the distance are
pounded by powerful waves that
swell and break at their feet. Vineyards
cling to the rock on almost
vertical terraces. Waterfalls plunge
from the wooded heights on
either side of the village. d Map
D2 • Rodoeste buses 80 and 139
% Porto Moniz
São Vicente
Porto Moniz, the most northwesterly
conurbation on the
island, combines a bustling agricultural
town set high up around
its church, with a lower town
devoted to food and bathing.
Natural rock pools have been
turned into a bathing complex
offering a safe environment in
which to enjoy the exhilarating
experience of being showered by
spray from waves breaking on
the offshore rocks. The newly
landscaped seafront is lined with
restaurants selling some of the
island’s best seafood. d Map B1 •
Rodoeste buses 80 and 139
Around Western Maderia 81