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FRom 18m below sea level to 1.863m above, Madeira is one of the few places in Europe with adventurous pursuit everywhere, making it the perfect destination for hybrid athletes who want their hand to try to do a variety of outdoor activities. And with Manta rays, sperm whales and giant groups swimming the waters only miles from the cloud part of the cloud-reduced peaks, it is also a nature lover’s dream.
In the soft summer climate, the extreme landscapes of this exposed and remote Atlantic island are pleasantly accessible, with some of the highest summit that can be reached from short, often flat, paved paths with rails. Combined with preneic gardens, hill -related cable cars and restaurants on the beach around Funchal, it’s clear why Madeira is popular with older tourists during the highest summer months.
But to visit in the quiet outdoor season, go away from the South Coast and explore outside the easy routes, I found Madeira that Madeira is a paradise for another kind of pleasure. Sunshine one minute and the next showers The next one simply added extra spices to my island adventure – and it’s hot all year, and drops to a minimum average day temperature of 18c in December, making it a popular place for winter sun.
As I drive from the airport, a thin gray highway with concrete barriers takes me past Funchal and a chain of well -interviewed towns on the South Coast packed with hotels, restaurants and shops. At Ribeira Brava, I hit the Trans-Mountain Road through the middle of the island like a corridor to the wild side. Less than half a mile off the road, my attention is caught by a supermarket with a spectacular background: a 400 m waterfall that, by the way, falls into a mossy, fern-covered cliff.
Lichen-lined evergroenes and the spring flowering bushes of the Biodiverse UNESCO World Heritage Site Laurissilva Forest claim 15,000 hectares of the island, almost entirely in the northern half of it. Settlements are few and far between the largest surviving area of this ancient forest, which once covered southern Europe. Some, like Ilha, sit on the green platforms that rise from deep valleys in the clouds; Others, hidden along unobtrusive sidewalks that embrace the ocean, are battered by some of the most monstrous waves I’ve ever seen. At one point, I feel nervous about simply standing on the beach at Ribeira da Janela- a big contrast to the often flat southern banks.
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Fortunately, a childhood of Mario Kart prepares me for the uphill of the clutch, uphill, hairpin bends and tunnels digging through coastal cliffs. It’s a fun ride, and although it takes a while to get around, everything feels extra set apart. My cheap and cheerful self -catering accommodation offers a private part subtropical forest. I sleep with the curtains open and wake up to floor-to-ceiling views across the Atlantic horizon and narrow, tree-covered ridges slipping to the beach of São Vicente.
Some of the most dramatic hiking trails of the island, leading deeper into the mountains, to waterfalls and forests or along the coast, are down in all direction of the settlements in the north. Come evening, it’s always easy to find a table at one of the underrated restaurants serving perfect traditional dishes in these sleepy municipalities. Most specialize in seafood or Espetada wood flames with kebab-style, served with crispy cubes soft wheat flour and sweet potato bread.
If I don’t know what I get before checking the weather forecast every morning, a spark of excitement is added every day. Each shift in the weather unlocks a different map of activities to try. While I will get wet anyway, rainy days are reserved for waterfall hunting, surfing to São Vicente or Canyoning in Ribeira Das Cales. Cashcads flowed with full power during my visit and the forest leaves believed during a rainfall on the 9 km pr 6 Levada do Risco 25 Fontes Falls Trail. Gray air is ideal for mountain biking in Pico Das Pedras – or if there is a low cloud, a wandering wander in the forest; The short, cracked trees look mystical in mist.
Elsewhere, clear, peaceful conditions are essential for parachuting in the highlands, scuba diving or snorkeling on Garajau Beach part of a six kilometer wide marine reserve. In the east, the Ponta de São Lourenço Peninsula has its own climate and is almost constantly sunny during my stay. I pack my bikini, a snorkel set and a picnic for my walk along this half-edge piece, where the PR8 goes through the sloping, dusty caramel aircraft leading to Sardinha beach. After snapping with colorful parrot fish, decorated spills and canary dams, I rent a kayak for € 5 and drive around the inlets.
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Along with the classic, beloved “PR” hiking trails, the less polished routes hidden along modest sidewalks are some of my favorites. If I choose a random lane and follow it to a dead end, it leads me to a dusty path around the sloping sides of a shallow estuary with a secret beach. It then joins the Caminho Da Entrosa Trail – one of the six quiet, historic Caminho trails that takes you to secluded picturesque places.
I facilitate my sore muscles at sunset in the North Shore’s natural sea pools, which bubbled more than 25,000 years ago until the origin of the Lava in the Atlantic Ocean. The endless refreshed salt water is an impossibly rich blue shade in this giant, porous black rock pools that I share with no more than six other people while watching the evening’s tides. I swim through a colossal, petrified lava -bow to reach the views from the natural pools of Poça Das Lesmas, which sits alone at the base of a rocky outskirts in Sixal. On the quiet side of Moniz Town, I look forward to the island of Ilheu Mole and the Cachalote Natural Pools. If you look at the ongoing movement of foamy white boom, the rocks paint and then drip again meditatively. I count down all days until my return.
How to do this
All major British airline operators fly to Madeira, and Easyjet and Jet2 will start new direct flights to the island from Bournemouth and Luton airports this year.
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