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A levada path through laurel forest above Calheta

Things to Do

Levadas through laurel forest, cetaceans off the marina, rum where it is distilled, and a road that climbs to 1,400 m in half an hour.

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8 Day Trips from Calheta

The best of the island within reach, Porto Moniz's natural pools, the Fanal laurel wood, Funchal, Cabo Girão and the peaks.

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Levadas & Walking

The Rabaçal trails, PR6 to 25 Fontes and PR6.1 to the Risco waterfall, plus the old cliff paths in the west.

A footbridge on the Levada das 25 Fontes path through laurel forest at Rabaçal
Walk
Asurnipal / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Levada walking at Rabaçal

The island's best-known levada walks start above Calheta at Rabaçal: PR6 to the 25 Fontes springs and the short PR6.1 to the Risco waterfall. Both follow hand-cut irrigation channels through UNESCO-listed laurisilva. Both are booked and paid for in advance through the regional SIMplifica system, and summer morning slots go days ahead.

1 hour (PR6.1) to 4 hours (PR6)Year-round; the plateau closes first in bad weatherEasy (PR6.1) to moderate (PR6)
The 25 Fontes amphitheatre at the end of PR6The roughly 100 m Risco waterfall on PR6.1UNESCO laurisilva forest the whole wayBooked in advance through SIMplifica, not a walk-up trail
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On the Water

Cetacean-watching and coastal trips out of Calheta marina, on a coast where the sea floor drops away close in.

A whale and dolphin watching boat working the water off the Madeiran coast
Boat
Asurnipal / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Whale and dolphin watching from Calheta marina

Boats leave the marina beside the beach for the deep water off Madeira's south-west coast, which drops away fast enough that cetaceans are close in. Bottlenose and common dolphins are the usual sightings, with Atlantic spotted dolphins, pilot whales and, with luck and season, larger whales. Trips typically run around two and a half hours, and spotters on land radio the boats onto the animals.

About 2.5 hoursYear-round, with the broadest species mix in spring and autumn
Departure from Calheta marina, a minute from the beachBottlenose and common dolphins as the regular sightingsLand-based spotters guiding the boatsDeep water close to shore on this coast
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Food, Drink & Culture

Poncha and rum at the working mill, the MUDAS museum above the town, and the parish church's Mudéjar ceiling.

A glass of poncha, Madeira's sugar-cane rum, honey and citrus drink
Culture
Mitsjol / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Poncha and sugar-cane rum tasting

Calheta is one of the few places on Madeira where the rum is distilled where you drink it. The mill in the village runs copper column stills, some over a century old, on fermented cane juice, and pours the result as poncha: rum, honey and citrus. Entry to the mill is free, so the tasting costs whatever you order.

45 minutesYear-round; the cane is crushed for a short season, traditionally after Easter
A working mill rather than a museum reconstructionAguardente de cana, cane honey and fresh cane juice in seasonPoncha made with rum distilled on siteFree entry
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Surf & Water Sports

The exposed west-coast breaks at Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar, a coast to watch from, unless you already surf.

A bodyboarder in the surf at Paul do Mar
Water Sports
Abbiati2 / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Surfing at Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar

Two of Madeira's serious breaks sit inside the Calheta municipality. Jardim do Mar's right-hand point drew international surfers from the 1990s, though a sea wall built in the early 2000s changed the wave and the change is still argued over; Paul do Mar takes the most exposed swell on the coast. Neither is a beginner spot, for a first lesson, the island's schools work elsewhere.

Best with autumn and winter north-Atlantic swellExperienced surfers
The Jardim do Mar right-hand point break, on the west-facing shorePaul do Mar's exposed beach break under the cliffWatchable from the seafront on a big dayNot a learners' coast
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Diving

Volcanic reef and drop-offs a short boat ride from the harbour wall, on the sheltered side of the island.

A diver over volcanic reef in the waters off Madeira
Diving
Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Diving off Calheta

Dive operators work out of the marina on volcanic reef and drop-offs a short boat ride from the harbour wall. Calheta faces south, on the sheltered side of the island, so it dives on days the north coast cannot.

Half dayYear-round, best in late summer and autumnAll levels, from try-dives to certified
Volcanic reef and drop-offs close to the harbourThe sheltered side of the island when the north is blown outOperators based at the marina
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Drives & Day Trips

The Paul da Serra plateau crossing, the western cape at Ponta do Pargo, and the north coast beyond.

The road across the Paul da Serra plateau with wind turbines on the skyline
Day Trip
Stephen Colebourne / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Driving Paul da Serra

The road from Calheta up to the plateau climbs from sea level to roughly 1,400 m in about half an hour, usually through the cloud layer on the way. On top it is open heath, wind turbines and grazing. A landscape that belongs to a different island from the banana terraces below. It is also the way to Rabaçal for the levadas.

1–2 hours as a driveYear-round; avoid in low cloud or high wind
Sea level to about 1,400 m in roughly half an hourCrossing the cloud layer, often in both directions in one dayAccess to the Rabaçal levada trailheadsNo fuel and no shelter on the plateau
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Book Ahead With Free Cancellation

The levadas need a booked slot regardless; the boats fill up in summer. These are the ones worth arranging before you arrive.

Levada das 25 Fontes (PR6)

The island's most walked levada, starting at Rabaçal above Calheta. Guided options handle the SIMplifica booking and the transfer to the trailhead.

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Whale & Dolphin Watching

Roughly two and a half hours out of Calheta marina, with land-based spotters guiding the boat onto the animals.

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West Coast & Ponta do Pargo

The western cape, the lighthouse whose light sits about 312 m above the sea, and the cliff villages of Jardim do Mar and Paul do Mar.

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Porto Moniz & the North

Across the Paul da Serra plateau to the volcanic natural pools, usually taking in the Fanal laurel wood.

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Diving off Calheta

Volcanic reef and drop-offs a short boat ride from the harbour wall, on the sheltered side of the island.

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All Calheta & Madeira Experiences

Browse every tour and activity reachable from this coast, levadas, boats, canyoning and island drives.

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Upcoming Festivals & Events

The municipal festival in June, Pentecost at the marina, and the short season when the mill actually crushes cane.

Carnaval

February or March (moveable)

Madeira's carnival is centred on Funchal, 35–50 minutes east, where the main parades run. In Calheta it is a quieter affair of local parades and school groups, worth catching if you are here, not worth planning a trip around.

Sugar-cane crushing at the Engenho

A short season each year, traditionally after Easter

For a few weeks a year the mill in the village actually runs: cut cane comes in, the crushing machinery turns, and the smell of it fills that end of the avenue. The exact window moves with the harvest and with Easter, so ask locally rather than trusting a date. Outside the season the buildings, stills and tasting room stay open.

Festa do Espírito Santo

Pentecost (moveable, late spring)

Calheta marks Pentecost with the insignia of the Divine Holy Spirit brought down to the marina, a blessing of the boats on the water, and mass in the parish church. It is a working village occasion rather than a staged one, and it ties the church at the top of the avenue to the harbour at the bottom of it.

Festas da Calheta

June, around Municipality Day on 24 June

The municipality's own festival, built around Municipality Day on 24 June and stretched across most of the month, concerts, theatre, cinema, sport and the traditional São João marches. It is one of the larger municipal festivals on Madeira, and it takes over the seafront rather than the hotels. Check the municipality's programme for the current year's dates.

www.cmcalheta.pt

Dia da Madeira (Madeira Day)

1 July (annual)

The regional public holiday for the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Public offices and many businesses close; beaches, restaurants and the tourist side of the coast carry on as normal. Worth knowing if you were planning a bank or a municipal office that day.

Things to Do in Calheta, FAQ

What are the best things to do in Calheta?+

Walk one of the Rabaçal levadas, swim at the engineered beach, drink poncha at the sugar-cane mill, see the MUDAS museum, and take a cetacean trip out of the marina.

What is the best day trip from Calheta?+

Porto Moniz for the volcanic natural pools, about 40 minutes across the plateau. A complete contrast to Calheta's imported sand. Fanal and Funchal are the other two obvious ones.

Do I need to book activities in advance?+

The levadas, yes, Madeira's marked PR trails are booked and paid for through the SIMplifica system, and summer mornings go days ahead. Boat trips are worth booking in season; the mill needs nothing.

What is there to do in Calheta when it rains?+

Check the altitude first: rain on the coast often means the plateau is worse, but the reverse also happens. Indoors, the MUDAS museum and the rum mill's tasting room both work, and Funchal is under an hour east.

How many days do you need in Calheta?+

Two for the town and one levada; four or five to use it as a base for the west of the island and a day in Funchal.

Read More

Plan With Our Guides

Dig deeper: things to do

The levada booking system, the cetacean season, poncha explained, and the drives worth making.

The golden sand and breakwaters of Praia da Calheta on Madeira's south-west coast
Beaches

Praia da Calheta: Madeira's Golden Beach, Explained

Why Calheta's beach is golden when the rest of Madeira is black rock. The 2004 build, the imported sand, the breakwaters, and what it is actually like to swim there.

3 min read

The volcanic natural swimming pools at Porto Moniz on Madeira's north coast
Day Trips

The Best Day Trips from Calheta

Where to go from Calheta, Madeira, Porto Moniz, Fanal, Seixal, Cabo Girão, Câmara de Lobos, Funchal and Pico do Arieiro, with honest drive times.

2 min read

Breakwater blocks and the Madeira flag at the edge of Calheta's beach
Seasonal

The Best Time to Visit Calheta, Madeira

When to visit Calheta, why there is no closed season on Madeira's south-west coast, when the sea is warmest, and which months give you the best odds on the levadas.

2 min read

Hotels above the harbour front at Calheta
Where to Stay

Where to Stay in Calheta: Seafront, Terraces or the West

The three places to base yourself in Calheta, Madeira, the seafront beside the beach, the quintas in the terraces above town, or the cliff villages out west.

4 min read