The island is a green subtropical paradise Madeira. Thanks to the constant day temperature - around 24 ° C - it is called the land of eternal spring and is attractive to tourists all year round. The ubiquitous colorful flowers, green creepers, diverse landscapes with breathtaking cliffs and picturesque waterfalls delight here.
The magical island lies 500 km from the coast of Africa and 1000 km from Europe. The habit tells you to talk about the island of Madeira, but it is actually an archipelago - there are more islands. Outside of Madeira, the largest of the islands is Porto Santo (about 40 km from Madeira) with a beautiful beach. The archipelago also includes two groups of small islands: Ilhas Desertas and Ilhas Selvagens. Tourism, along with Madeira wine production and arable crops, is the main source of income for the island's inhabitants.
Madeira Island offers visitors a lot of attractions. The whole world is perfectly familiar with the flower festival taking place in May - beautiful floral compositions appear then on the streets of Funchal. In June there are wonderful firework shows that start the holiday season on the island. Madeira is not only flowers, but also wine - at the end of summer, Madeira invite you to taste their own wine products. In the capital of the island of Funchal there is a wonderful firework show on New Year's Eve - it's worth welcoming the new year right here. Thirsty thrillers will like the island during the carnival - the streets of Funchal are full of bustling colorful parades.
Madeira is the Island of Flowers and that is why the island's symbol is Strelitzia, called the bird of paradise. Madeira is famous for its blooming flowers and gardens with tropical plants found only here. The most popular of them is Jardin Botanico in Funchal with 2,000 plant species.
Levadas hidden in the forests - unique irrigation channels along which about 1,400 km of trekking and walking routes have been created are one of the main tourist attractions. It's a great way to get to know the island - along the Levtta Levada there are exotic arable fields, banana groves, you can admire the famous Eagle Rock - Penha d`Aguia and the picturesque village of Porto da Cruz, on the Rabadal Levada route you can see the Risco waterfall, the cascade of "25 sources" and under the auspices of the ancient laurel forest resembling the scenery from the movie "Jurassic Park".
The island has a lot to offer to enthusiasts of nature, architecture and folklore. The perfect place for a souvenir photo is Santana - an open-air museum with traditional thatched houses, picturesque rock formations in Ribeira da Janela and the majestic cliffs around Ponta Delgada and Arco de São Jorge. To learn more about the island's history, visit the lava caves and the multimedia Volcanic Center in São Vincente. It is also worth stopping at the beautiful Camara de Lobos - a fishing village with traditional buildings, once a favorite place of Winston Churchill and visiting the Cristiano Ronaldo Museum in Funchal.
Be sure to enter one of the largest cliffs in Europe - Cabo Girão where you will be able to admire the magnificent panorama of the coast.
The mild climate and temperature not falling below 15 degrees mean that throughout the year there are excellent conditions for sports. The island has Palheiro Golf and Santo da Serra golf courses, paragliding, scuba diving, jeep expeditions, cycling trips, primarily downhill and of course trekking are popular - the most popular route leads through the three highest peaks of Madeira: Pico Arieiro, Pico das Torres and Pico Ruivo, all above 1800 m above sea level
The main ingredients of local cuisine are fish, such as tuna or the espada off the island, and the richness of exotic fruit makes you dizzy: passion fruit, mango, papaya, avocado, bananas straight from the plantation or monstera deliciosa or bananoananas. It is a must to try the traditional ponch - a drink made of sugar cane vodka, honey and fresh lemon juice and the famous Madeira, a wine made only here for over 200 years.
There are only two sandy beaches on the island - in Machico and Calheta, created from sand imported from the Sahara. Rocky and pebble beaches predominate, there are also bathing beaches - platforms with ocean access and artificial terraces with swimming pools with sea water.
Below are some places that are worth seeing while visiting Madeira:
- Pico do Arieiro - the third highest road in Pico do Arieiro yt in Madeira, you can enter it by car. Phenomenal mountain views 360 degrees,
- Valley of the Nuns - Curral das Freiras - a wonderful valley with a climatic village at the bottom, it is worth seeing from below and from above,
- Cliff Cabo Girao - the highest in Europe - a viewpoint with a glass floor. The thrill without much effort,
- Camara de Lobos - a small town with a special inhabited cliff in the background, again stunning views,
- Funchal - Monte Hill and the center - a city on the Skarpa, Monte Hill with many attractions: a ride down a traditional sleigh, a cable car, tropical gardens and botanical gardens,
- Paul da Serra Plateau - wild west in the clouds, wilderness and wild nature on top of a mountain surrounded by the ocean. It is close to the interesting Rabadal Levadas - 25 Fontes and Risco,
- Ponta do Pargo - a lighthouse - a phenomenal view of the calm and wild west coast of Madeira from the promontory of a small lighthouse on the island's outskirts,
- Sao Vicente volcanic caves - a quiet town on the north coast, it has a volcanic cave system and a museum
- Porto Moniz - natural pools - formed of rocks at the ocean coast,
- Santana - theme park - A modern museum combining elements of knowledge about Madeira culture for everyone and fun for children. Point mainly for people with children.
MADEIRA - WHAT IS WORTH SEEING?
