At a glance
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What it is | The highest point on Madeira you can drive to, at 1,818 m |
| From Calheta | ≈70 km · 1 h 15 – 1 h 30 |
| The reason to go | Sunrise above the cloud layer |
| Warning | The road and the ridge trail both close in bad weather |
This is the longest trip in this guide and the only one that needs an alarm. From Calheta you are looking at up to ninety minutes each way, in the dark, to stand on a ridge at 1,818 m while the cloud sits below you and the sun comes up out of the Atlantic.
It is worth doing once. Check the road status the night before, take a warm layer that you would consider excessive at sea level, and put fuel in the car before you start.
