Collection
Gentle & family-friendly
Short, near-level, low on vertigo — easy wins with a big payoff.
Not every levada demands a head for heights or a full day out. These are the gentle ones: near-level channel paths and plateau strolls, low on exposure and easy underfoot, where children, casual walkers, and anyone easing in can still reach a real view or a forest worth the trip.
Most are short, too; the level Calheta–Prazeres run is the long exception — just as easy-going, but point-to-point, so plan your return. As everywhere on Madeira, the basalt is slick when wet and the cloud can roll in fast, so bring boots and a layer even on the easy days.
All low on exposure and easy underfoot. The Calheta–Prazeres walk is longer and point-to-point — arrange a return ride.
Vereda dos Balcões
The north's easiest classic: a near-level 1.5 km each way along the Levada da Serra do Faial from Ribeiro Frio to the Balcões — the 'balconies' — a railed promontory looking deep into the Metade valley and, on a clear day, across to the central peaks of Pico do Areeiro, Pico das Torres and Pico Ruivo, with the Fajã da Nogueira hydro plant far below. Through laurel forest alive with chaffinches and endemic flora, it is ideal for families and a fine half-hour acclimatiser. Visit Madeira gives 1.5 km / 3 km round trip, 1:30 h, Easy, altitude 880/870 m. The municipality on the official register is Santana, placing it firmly in the north, though it pairs naturally with the PR10 Levada do Furado that starts nearby.
- Family-friendly
Levada do Risco
The shortest and gentlest of the Rabaçal trails, leading from the forestry house along an almost level levada to a viewpoint facing the tall, thread-like Risco waterfall. It shares its opening stretch with PR6, so the two are routinely combined into one outing. Visit Madeira gives 1.5 km one-way (3 km round trip), Easy, about 2 hours; the path runs at roughly 1,000 m through laurel forest. The former lower path beneath the falls is closed after landslides.
- Has tunnels
- Waterfall on the route
- Family-friendly
Bica da Cana / Pináculo
A short, easy route across the open Paul da Serra plateau from the Bica da Cana viewpoint — one of Madeira's great panoramic points at around 1,560–1,580 m — down to a levada and on to the Pináculo rock. It is effectively a gentle 'short version' of PR17 for less experienced walkers, with sweeping views over the São Vicente valley to the island's highest peaks. The terrain is a little rocky and can be slippery; allow about 1.5 hours for the roughly 4.5 km round trip.
- Has tunnels
- Waterfall on the route
- Family-friendly
Levada da Serra do Faial
The Levada da Serra do Faial is a long, near-level water channel that contours the eastern highlands at roughly 700–800 m, linking the heights above Funchal (Choupana) eastward through Camacha and Santo da Serra and ultimately feeding toward the Ribeiro Frio system where the Levada do Furado begins. It is most often walked as the gentle Choupana–Camacha leg — sometimes marketed as the 'Levada Vale Paraíso' — a wide, flat, shaded path through mixed oak, pine, eucalyptus and laurel woodland with intermittent panoramas over the capital and its valleys. Its flatness and width make it one of the most accessible levada walks on Madeira, with no significant exposure.
- Has tunnels
- Family-friendly
Levada da Calheta – Prazeres
A long, easy levada in Madeira's sun-warmed southwest, linking the coastal town of Calheta with the upland village of Prazeres. The channel — part of a network roughly 50 km long supplying the Calheta hydroelectric plant — contours through acacias, eucalyptus, pine and wildflowers, passing a lagoon and ending near a levadeiro's (channel-keeper's) house. With only tens of metres of net descent over its length, it is graded easy and is best walked from Prazeres downhill to Calheta. Sources quote around 14.4 km and roughly 4–4.75 hours.
- Has tunnels
- Family-friendly