Enjoy a hiking route just for yourself

The levada from Ribeiro Frio to Chão das Feiteiras is an easy route through the lush Laurissilva forest in the centre of Madeira Island. On this hike you won’t find viewpoints with spectacular views or large waterfalls, but you will enjoy the sounds of the forest on a quiet, easy-to-do trail where you will be completely immersed in nature.

This circular route, which is not very popular with tourists, starts and ends in the Ribeiro Frio Forest Park, where you will also find the popular Vereda dos Balcões. If you start early in the morning you can do both and finish at midday as we did.

Key details of the hike

Hike Distance: The total distance of this circular route is 7.5 kilometres.

Duration of the hike: In total you can do this hike in approximately 2-3 hours. The inclination of the final part slows you down a bit.

Difficulty of the hike: in general this route is easy. The main difficulty of this hike is the inclination and the fact there are some sections in the middle of the route where you will need to check the map to be able to keep the right direction because the path is less defined.

Slope/inclination: The total inclination of the hike is around 500 meters.

Tip: Take the walkme app with you so you can follow the path even if you are offline.

Best time to do the hike: Most of the trail is in the shade of the forest so you can do it without worrying about the sun at any time of the day. Also, this route is not very popular so you won’t have any problems with crowds. We did it after doing Vereda dos Balcoes, so we started around 10 am and we were alone all the time.

How to get to Levada Ribeiro Frio – Chão das Feiteiras

Like most of the levadas in Madeira, the best way to get there is by car, either rented or taxi. Although this particular route, starting right in front of the popular Veredas do Balcões, in the village of Ribeiro Frio, is also accessible by the public bus L56 from Funchal.

It takes about 30 minutes by car from Funchal and the drive through the mountains and fog is beautiful in itself.

The trail starts at Ribeiro Frio, which is the same starting point for the popular Vereda Dos Balcões hike. To begin, head to the sign that says Portela and from there you won’t get lost.
You can find the exact location here.

Ribeiro Frio is actually an attraction in itself with lush gardens, trout farms and a number of small streams and waterfalls. Since Ribeiro Frio is quite popular, it can be difficult to find parking close by so people park on the side of the road.

In Ribeiro Frio there is an information office, several restaurants, cafés and toilets if you want to take a break after the walk.

Our experience doing the hike from Ribeiro Frio to Chão das Feiteiras

After finishing the Vereda Dos Balcões at around 10am we still had time to do this hike and since they are right in front of each other we decided to do them both the same day.
We were shocked to see the crowds of people starting to do the Balcões hike at that hour and this route that is right in front of it was completely empty. We didn’t encounter anyone along the way other than the birds that came to greet us from time to time.

The first part of the hike is the easiest of them all, with practically 0 slope, you will pass by an abandoned building and immediately you will be immersed in the laurel forest, along the way there are several viewpoints with good views, you will also come across different types of flowers and various types of birds along the way.

Leaving behind the levada and taking the path to the right, you will start the second part of the hike, which goes deeper into the trees on a narrow path full of roots and quite steep. To reach the top you will ascend about 300 metres until you get to a large plateau.

In our case, when we arrived at the plateau we found a sunny and fairly clear sky, but you may find it covered with fog, which also has its charm.

In this area the path is not very well defined or marked. But as a guideline remember to walk in the direction of the only abandoned hut and when you are in front of it turn right onto the dirt road.
Continue along this path and in less than a kilometre you will see a small wooden board on the left that takes you back downhill into the forest. Pay attention to the sign because it is small and it’s easy to miss it and then you will need to go back, as happened to us.

This will be the last part of the hike, from now on it will be all downhill, you will have to go down a stone path until you reach the road and once you cross it, you will find the typical steps parallel to the levadas forming a waterfall, on the left hand side you will find the Ribeiro Frio trout farm on the same road where you parked your car.

If you have some time to spare after the Vereda dos Balcões, which, although very touristy, is still spectacular, this circular route has its charm if you want to take a relaxing walk through nature.

If you only have a few days, in our opinion, there are more attractive routes such as the levada das 25 fontes or Ponta de Sao Lourenço.

We hope you enjoy this levada on your next visit to Madeira!