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Northwest — Porto Moniz

Levada da Ribeira da Janela

Also known as Ribeira da Janela tunnel walk · Levada da Central da Ribeira da Janela

22.8 km Length out-and-back
7.25 h Duration typical
Hard Grade hard
100 m Ascent climb
high Exposure vertigo

The far northwest's epic, and a deliberate exception on this list: the Levada da Ribeira da Janela is not a classified PR trail, but it is one of the most ambitious tunnel walks on Madeira. The channel follows the right bank of the Ribeira da Janela — the longest river on the island — deep into a cliff-walled valley, the path hugging the inside wall above the gorge. Its centrepiece is a tunnel of more than 1,200 m, pitch-dark, dripping and partly flooded, with waterfalls spilling inside; in all there are roughly seven to nine tunnels. Crystalline pools punctuate the route, some deep enough to swim. Distances vary sharply with the chosen variant: about 11.5 km one-way along the levada, a long ~22.8 km full out-and-back, or roughly 16 km looped via the Vereda do Galhano. Edges are crumbly and exposed — for sure-footed hikers only.

Highlights

  • One of Madeira's longest and most spectacular tunnel walks
  • Penetrates the wild interior of the Ribeira da Janela valley
  • The kilometre-plus tunnel is a highlight in itself
  • Endemic flora and dramatic abyss views

Water on the route

  • Ribeira da Janela stream — the longest watercourse on the island
  • crystalline pools and small lagoons deep enough to swim
  • waterfalls falling onto the path and inside the long tunnel
Tunnels: 7–9 tunnels depending on the route; the longest exceeds 1,200 m (over 1 km), often with water and waterfalls dripping inside — a torch is essential. Bring a head-torch — some levada tunnels are long, low and pitch black.

Walks like this

PR9 North — Santana

Levada do Caldeirão Verde

Madeira's most celebrated levada walk and the archetype of the north. From the thatched A-frame shelter at Queimadas the path runs almost level along an 18th-century channel cut to water the fields of Faial, plunging into the densest interior of the UNESCO Laurisilva. Four rock tunnels punctuate the route — bring a torch and expect water underfoot — before the channel rounds a final escarpment to the Caldeirão Verde, a green-walled amphitheatre where the Ribeiro do Caldeirão Verde drops roughly 100 m into a dark pool. The drops beside the unfenced channel are real and the basalt is slick when wet. Visit Madeira gives the official PR9 as 8.7 km one-way / 17.4 km round trip; in practice GPS tracks to the waterfall and back cluster around 11.5–13.5 km.

  • Has tunnels
  • Waterfall on the route
17.4 kmLength6.5 hTimemoderateGrade
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PR9 North — Santana

Levada do Caldeirão do Inferno

Not a separate trail but the full extent of the official PR9: from Caldeirão Verde the channel pushes a further ~2.4 km through a string of narrow, often flooded tunnels into the Caldeirão do Inferno, a sheer-sided canyon closed by a final towering waterfall. This is the demanding end of the route — guidebooks count around eleven tunnels in total and rate the complete out-and-back as hard, a full day of 6–7 hours or more. The popular shorthand 'PR9.1' for this extension is a misnomer: the official register names the whole Queimadas–Caldeirão Verde–Caldeirão do Inferno line as PR9, while the real PR9.1 is a short accessible path (Queimadas–Pico das Pedras) elsewhere.

  • Has tunnels
  • Waterfall on the route
17.4 kmLength6.5 hTimehardGrade
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PR11 North — Ribeiro Frio (Santana municipality)

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
3 kmLength1.5 hTimeeasyGrade
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