Enchanted Terraces, Porto Moniz and Fanal Forest 4WD Tour Madeira

Encumeada pass and the Serra de Água valley

Leaving Funchal, the jeep heads west and climbs through the Serra de Água valley, where waterfalls tumble down green cliffs and small terraces cling to impossibly steep slopes. These stone-walled terraces, called poios, were cut by hand over centuries so that families could farm the mountainsides, and they give the tour its enchanted look.

At the top lies the Encumeada pass, around one thousand metres high and the narrow saddle between the south and north of Madeira. On a clear morning the viewpoint looks over both coasts at once, while on other days clouds pour over the ridge like a slow waterfall. The guide uses old roads and tracks around here to reach viewpoints that bigger coaches cannot, a big part of the appeal of a Madeira jeep tour.

Paul da Serra plateau and Bica da Cana

Paul da Serra is the largest plateau on the island, a flat expanse of moorland around fourteen to fifteen hundred metres above sea level, created by ancient lava flows. Its grassland, heather and bracken feel a world away from the tropical gardens of Funchal, and grazing cattle and sheep wander freely across it.

Because of its height, the plateau often sits above the clouds, giving you the remarkable sight of a white sea stretching to the horizon with the peaks of central Madeira breaking through. Nearby, the Bica da Cana viewpoint looks east to the island's highest summits. It is cooler and windier up here, so a jacket is useful even in summer before the drive continues towards Fanal.

Fanal Forest and the Laurisilva

Fanal is the most photographed corner of the Laurisilva, Madeira's native laurel forest, which once covered much of southern Europe and survives today largest here. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. In Fanal, gnarled til trees several centuries old grow in an open meadow near a seasonal pond, their twisted branches covered in moss and lichen.

When the mist rolls in, the trees appear and disappear like silhouettes, giving the place its fairy-tale reputation; on clear days the sun filters through the canopy onto grazing cows. The tour includes a guided stroll here, the best moment to walk among the giants and take photos. If you have wondered whether the Fanal Forest is worth visiting, most guests say it is the most magical stop of their stay in Madeira.

Porto Moniz natural swimming pools

Porto Moniz sits at the northwestern tip of Madeira, where the Atlantic crashes onto black volcanic rock. Over time the sea and cooled lava formed natural pools that are refilled by every tide, and the village has turned them into the island's best-known bathing area, with ladders, sun terraces and changing rooms beside the waves. Before arriving, you pass the Ribeira da Janela viewpoint and its sea stacks rising offshore.

The tour stops here for about an hour, enough time for a swim in the clear, cool water, a walk along the seafront or lunch in one of the village restaurants at your own expense. The Porto Moniz natural pools are at their most pleasant from June to October, though the views of the surf are spectacular all year.

Seixal, the Bridal Veil waterfall and São Vicente

Along the north coast, the old road runs between cliffs, tunnels and waterfalls to Seixal, a small village known for its black sand beach, its own rock pools and terraces that climb almost to the clifftops. From a viewpoint near Seixal you see the Bridal Veil waterfall, the Véu da Noiva, falling straight from the cliff into the sea in a thin white ribbon.

Further east, São Vicente is a tidy valley village of white houses, a decorated parish church and a tiny chapel carved into a rock by the river mouth. Here the guide may stop at a traditional village or a secret viewpoint before crossing back over the mountains to Funchal. Together these stops make this a complete northwest Madeira day tour from Funchal.