I Hiked 120km Across Madeira in 5 Days
Chris Knight
29,099 views
I spent five days hiking 120km across Madeira from west to east, following a coast to coast route known as the Madeira Trail.
Starting on the west coast of the island and finishing on the east coast, me and my mate George crossed Madeira on foot, hiking close to 6,000 metres of elevation gain and passing through some of the most ridiculous scenery I have ever experienced.
Across the route, we hiked through jagged volcanic mountains, lush levadas, ancient UNESCO forests, waterfalls, mist-covered ridgelines, remote valleys and wild coastal cliffs high above the Atlantic.
Along the way, we passed places including Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest, Rabaçal, Lagoa do Vento, Encumeada, Pico Ruivo, Santana, Porto da Cruz, Boca do Risco and Machico.
It was challenging, beautiful, completely surreal and one of the best multi-day hikes I have ever done.
This is the story of hiking across Madeira.
As of June 2026, the PR1.3 section of the trail is currently closed to the public due to restoration work, and it is uncertain when it will reopen. While Travelbase originally included this section of the hike in its initial route, it has made adjustments to bypass the current closure. For safety and legal reasons, Travelbase recommends that visitors always check and respect local trail closures and regulations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
▶ Check out the Madeira Trail: https://madeiratrail.eu/en/?a_aid=ohw...
▶ Read my blog post on the trip: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/blog/hiki...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow my Journey
▶ Instagram: ohwhataknight_
▶ TikTok: ohwhataknight_
📷 My Camera Gear: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/my-camera...
🥾 My Hiking gear: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/my-hiking...
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00:00 Cinematic Intro
01:30 Day 1, Ribeira da Janela to Rabaçal
03:36 Fanal Forest
06:35 Day 1 Accommodation and Recap
08:20 Day 2, Rabaçal to Encumeada
09:10 Lagoa do Vento
15:32 Day 2 Accommodation and Recap
16:20 Day 3, Encumeada to Ilha
17:05 PR1.3 Mountain Section
23:30 Pico Ruivo
24:35 Descent to Ilha
25:30 Day 4, Ilha to Santana
29:33 Day 4 Accommodation
30:40 Ponta do Clérigo Side Hike
32:20 Day 4 Recap
33:47 Day 5, Santana to Machico
34:20 How the Madeira Trail Works
36:50 Eagle’s Nest
38:00 Boca do Risco
39:50 Finishing in Machico
#madeira #hiking #adventure
20 Comments
I Hiked 120km Across Madeira in 5 Days
Chris Knight
29,099 views
I spent five days hiking 120km across Madeira from west to east, following a coast to coast route known as the Madeira Trail.
Starting on the west coast of the island and finishing on the east coast, me and my mate George crossed Madeira on foot, hiking close to 6,000 metres of elevation gain and passing through some of the most ridiculous scenery I have ever experienced.
Across the route, we hiked through jagged volcanic mountains, lush levadas, ancient UNESCO forests, waterfalls, mist-covered ridgelines, remote valleys and wild coastal cliffs high above the Atlantic.
Along the way, we passed places including Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest, Rabaçal, Lagoa do Vento, Encumeada, Pico Ruivo, Santana, Porto da Cruz, Boca do Risco and Machico.
It was challenging, beautiful, completely surreal and one of the best multi-day hikes I have ever done.
This is the story of hiking across Madeira.
As of June 2026, the PR1.3 section of the trail is currently closed to the public due to restoration work, and it is uncertain when it will reopen. While Travelbase originally included this section of the hike in its initial route, it has made adjustments to bypass the current closure. For safety and legal reasons, Travelbase recommends that visitors always check and respect local trail closures and regulations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
▶ Check out the Madeira Trail: https://madeiratrail.eu/en/?a_aid=ohw...
▶ Read my blog post on the trip: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/blog/hiki...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow my Journey
▶ Instagram: ohwhataknight_
▶ TikTok: ohwhataknight_
📷 My Camera Gear: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/my-camera...
🥾 My Hiking gear: https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/my-hiking...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
00:00 Cinematic Intro
01:30 Day 1, Ribeira da Janela to Rabaçal
03:36 Fanal Forest
06:35 Day 1 Accommodation and Recap
08:20 Day 2, Rabaçal to Encumeada
09:10 Lagoa do Vento
15:32 Day 2 Accommodation and Recap
16:20 Day 3, Encumeada to Ilha
17:05 PR1.3 Mountain Section
23:30 Pico Ruivo
24:35 Descent to Ilha
25:30 Day 4, Ilha to Santana
29:33 Day 4 Accommodation
30:40 Ponta do Clérigo Side Hike
32:20 Day 4 Recap
33:47 Day 5, Santana to Machico
34:20 How the Madeira Trail Works
36:50 Eagle’s Nest
38:00 Boca do Risco
39:50 Finishing in Machico
#madeira #hiking #adventure