West Madeira and Fanal Mystic Forest Guided Day Trip from Funchal

Cabo Girão Skywalk

Cabo Girão rises about 580 metres straight out of the Atlantic and is among the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Its name is said to recall the moment in 1419 when the first Portuguese navigators exploring the coast turned back here. In 2012 a glass-floored platform, the Skywalk, was built at the edge, so you can stand above the void and look down at the sea and the tiny terraced fields of the fajãs at the foot of the cliff.

From the railings the view sweeps east over the fishing town of Câmara de Lobos and the whole bay of Funchal. Our Cabo Girão Skywalk tour stop lasts about thirty minutes, enough for photos and a coffee; the small entrance ticket for the platform is paid on site. Morning is the best time to visit Cabo Girão, before the clouds gather on the cliff top.

Fanal Forest and the Laurisilva of Madeira

Fanal lies at around 1,100 metres on the north-western edge of the Paul da Serra plateau, in the heart of the Laurisilva, the laurel forest listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999. This type of forest once covered much of southern Europe millions of years ago, and Madeira keeps the largest surviving area. Here, centuries-old til trees with twisted trunks and mossy branches stand alone in grassy meadows where cows graze.

When the fog rolls in, which happens on most days, the trees appear and disappear in the mist and the place feels truly enchanted, which is why photographers love it. Our Fanal forest tour includes a short, easy walk of about thirty minutes among the trees with your guide explaining the plants and the history of the plateau. Bring a warm layer, as it is much cooler than the coast.

Ribeira da Janela and the north coast

From Fanal the road descends through forest to the north coast, where the Atlantic beats against black volcanic cliffs. At Ribeira da Janela, a small village at the mouth of a deep valley, tall rock islets rise from the sea just offshore. One of them has a natural opening like a window, janela in Portuguese, which gave the river and the village their name.

This fifteen-minute photo stop shows the wilder side of Madeira, very different from the sunny south: green slopes falling to the waves, terraced fields clinging to the hills and spray rising over the rocks. Your guide points out how the north coast was cut off for centuries and reached mostly by sea before the modern roads and tunnels were built.

Porto Moniz natural volcanic pools

Porto Moniz, on the north-western tip of the island, is famous for its natural swimming pools formed by ancient lava flows and filled with clear Atlantic water at every tide. The main pools have changing rooms, sunbeds and lifeguards in summer, while waves crash on the rocks just beyond. Nearby stand a small seventeenth-century fort that now houses an aquarium and the islet of Mole with its lighthouse.

This is the longest stop of our Porto Moniz natural pools tour: about one and a half hours for lunch and free time. You can swim in the pools if the weather allows, so pack swimwear and a towel; the pool entrance ticket and lunch are paid locally. If the sea is rough the pools may close, but the walk along the promenade and the restaurants serving fresh fish make the stop worthwhile in any weather.

Seixal beach and the Véu da Noiva waterfall

Seixal is a small north coast village with one of Madeira's few black sand beaches, a strip of dark volcanic sand framed by sheer green cliffs and mountains. From 1 October to 31 March we stop at the harbour for a closer look; from April to September the harbour cannot be reached by our minibus, so we stop at a viewpoint above the beach for photos, about twenty minutes.

A few minutes along the coast, the Véu da Noiva viewpoint looks across to the Bride's Veil waterfall, which pours down the cliff almost straight into the sea. Below you can still see stretches of the old coastal road cut into the rock. It is a fitting last image before we head back south through the mountain tunnels, making this the most varied Madeira day trip from Funchal.