At a glance
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What it is | A stand of ancient til (laurel) trees on high grassland |
| From Calheta | ≈30 km · 35 min over the plateau |
| Altitude | Around 1,150 m — expect cloud |
| Best for | Photography, and one of the strangest landscapes on the island |
Fanal is one of the few places where the weather is the attraction. The trees — old, low, wind-bent laurels standing apart on open pasture — are handsome in sunshine and extraordinary in fog, which is why almost every photograph of them is grey.
From Calheta the route is the same climb onto Paul da Serra as for Rabaçal, then west along the ridge. It is roughly 35 minutes, and you will usually be able to see from the plateau whether the cloud is where you want it.
What to do
Walk. There is a marked trail through the trees and around the grassland, and the whole point is to move slowly and let the fog do the work. It is not a long visit — an hour or two — which makes Fanal a natural pairing with Porto Moniz or Seixal on the same day.
Practical notes
- There is no shelter and no café. Bring what you need.
- Cold and wet up here even when Calheta is in shorts weather.
- Livestock graze the pasture; leave gates as you find them.
