PR 6 - Levada das 25 Fontes

Elevation: 600 m / Lenght: 10 km / Time: 5 hrs
Visit rate: 5/5 / Rating: 5/5

We arrived around 9 a.m., and the parking lot was about half full. Between the parking area and the start of the levada near Rabaçal Nature Spot Cottage, you need to walk 1.5 km downhill with an elevation drop of around 250 meters. There is a shuttle van you can use, but it was not running at all in the morning. At this early hour, it was really cold, around 5°C, and on top of that there was a strong wind. Without a hat, it would have been a pretty uncomfortable start to the day.

Before heading out on the trail, keep in mind that from 2026 all PR routes on Madeira require mandatory online reservations with QR codes, which must be booked in advance for a specific time. Right at one of the entrances, there is a person with a scanner who actually checks these reservations. If any of you really do not want to pay for tickets at any cost, you will probably find a way around it. But in our opinion, those few extra euros are not a big deal.

The café, snacks, and restrooms at Rabaçal Nature Spot Cottage are still closed in the morning and open later, so if you are expecting a morning coffee right after arrival, you might be disappointed. It is better to set off with your own food and drinks. As for footwear, waterproof shoes are a must here, not a luxury. Mud is everywhere, puddles cannot always be avoided, and in regular sneakers you will definitely feel it. Most of the tourists we met were actually wearing sneakers, and it was clear that every step was a small tactical battle. In this beautiful dense jungle, mud and puddles remain long after the rain. Unless you arrive after several truly dry days, which is unlikely, you will not avoid wet feet. That is guaranteed.

Levada do Risco was almost empty in the early hours, and the nearly deserted waterfall at the end was a reward for getting up early. In photos it might even look slightly better than in reality, but it is still definitely worth the visit.

After that, the connected 25 Fontes trail was much busier. The weather had completely changed by then, and within a few hours it went from cold enough for a hat and gloves to warm enough for shorts and a T shirt. The way there was still fairly manageable, but the return hike was constantly interrupted by an endless wave of new arrivals who started the trail around midday and in the afternoon.

Stepping aside and waiting is unfortunately a rather annoying but unavoidable part of this route, and you will not escape it in any weather. People visit levadas in heat, rain, and even thick fog when you can barely see a few meters ahead. Some sections are even marked as one way, but not everyone respected that. The return route is more demanding in terms of elevation gain, so some tourists simply walked in the opposite direction and blocked an already overcrowded path. With older visitors we could understand it, with others much less.

And the highlight of the whole route, the 25 Fontes waterfall? Honestly, a bit of a disappointment for us, although it matched our expectations. Even so, we rate the entire hike very positively, because levadas themselves are beautiful trails and the surrounding landscape is truly incredible once you ignore the crowds.

A shuttle van for up to five people runs back to the parking area for 5 euros per person. However, you may end up waiting around thirty minutes before it fills up, drives up, drops people off, returns, and picks up the next group. We did not get a spot, and honestly we did not mind, because we were back at the top on foot within half an hour, and the van only caught up with us at the parking lot. If you want to save your legs, you can wait. If you prefer to walk, just go. One more practical tip, stand in line directly at the shuttle bus sign. The driver takes people strictly in order and does not care whether you already have a ticket or plan to pay on the spot. A queue is a queue.

Week on Madeira for 2 (7 nights)                                                                                                     Flights (Smartwings): 820,-                                                                                                                 Car rental (Sixt): 370,-                                                                                                   Accommodation (Booking): 570,-                                                                                           Spending: 610,-                                                                                                                               Total: 2 370,- EUR