Treasure Island: Discover Madeira’s hiking trails and adventure activities

In 2017, the world watched as a bust of the then-Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled at the freshly renamed Cristiano Ronaldo Airport in Madeira in the presence of the man himself. He was happy with the sculpture’s likeness, but that didn’t stop the media and Facebook pundits piling in, mocking the bust for its exaggerated yet charming features. The creator, a local artist named Emanuel Santos, commented that he might not be able to satisfy public opinion, but then, ‘neither did Jesus please everyone.’

It was with the excitement of coming face-to-face with this striking representation of the footballer that I landed in the airport bearing his name. Alas, it turns out I was too late: the original bust has apparently been hidden in a corner of the airport’s storeroom and replaced by a perhaps more authentic, if blander, interpretation.

I wasn’t going to let this disappointment ruin my trip. After all, my partner Emily and I weren’t in Madeira to see Ronaldo’s face, although it’s possible to plan an entire holiday on the island around him if you wish. No, we were here to be fattened up by the Maderia Tourism Board, who had presumably seen that I was wasting away on my diet of porridge back home and decided to fix me up with as much food as the island could throw at us, washed down with a side of adventure. What followed was five days of gorging and discovering the island by land, sea, and air.

Madeira hiking trails

Our first excursion, apart from an outing to a superb steak restaurant, was a 4WD tour of the island which gave us a sense of the island’s diverse topography and microclimates. In the half-hour drive from the south side to the north coast, we’d gone from warm sunshine to damp, brooding, subtropical mist. Our driver Alex then took us through winding village back streets where banana farmers were hard at work collecting their harvest from the roadside.

Banana plants line the roads, fill the gullies, and cover the hillside terraces in Madeira, and they invoke a certain pride from the locals, who claim that despite their small size (the bananas) theirs are the most delicious. We pulled over to buy some from a worker who had hacked them free minutes ago, and sure enough, they were probably the richest and sweetest bananas I’ve tasted.

On another day, we went for a hike with Ruben from Adventure Kingdom, following the PR13 route through one of the best remaining examples of Atlantic laurissilva, a subtropical forest that was once common in Europe but has declined over centuries and millennia over changing climate and human exploitation. It’s all very Jurassic Park, which culminated at the end of the walk when we arrived at Fanal, an iconic part of the forest that’s well-represented on Instagram, with old, gnarled trees that are often cloaked in mist.

Further explorations on foot were to be had in Funchal, where we took the cable car up to Monte before gliding back down in the seat of a toboggan – not the snowy kind, but the kind where you sit in a wicker basket and are guided down public tarmac roads by two ‘carreiros’, who hold on to the back and steer using their boots.

The city itself is wonderful to explore, with buzzing flower and produce markets, colourful street art in the old town, and plenty of museums to discover, including the Blandy’s Wine Lodge and its cellar of superb Madeira wine, which I recollect being a great experience.

Kayaking and whale watching 

Our first foray into the water was at the village of Seixal, where we boarded sea kayaks and headed out into the swell. As we paddled along the coastline, waterfalls plunged out of the clouds that hung in the forest above the cliffs, and we explored the edges of caves and inlets, although the chop meant it was a bit hairy to get too close.

In terms of pure scenery, Madeira is a staggeringly beautiful sea kayaking destination. We made our way back to the black sand beach and traded our kayaks for paddleboards, and cruised around a sheltered cove watching rock crabs scuttle up the cliffs as we approached.

On our last day on the island we set off on a boat tour to search for marine life in the waters beyond Funchal, with the goal of spotting one of the many cetaceans that frequent the island, including pilot whales and sperm whales. We weren’t lucky enough to spot a whale, but we did have dolphins follow our boat and flying fish gliding above the waves.

Taking to the skies

Who doesn’t want to fly? I’ve always wanted to join the birds in their domain, so I was stoked to get the chance to try paragliding while I was on Madeira. It’s a bit weird to start with: get strapped to the front of a bloke, who then yells at you to run off a cliff while dragging a huge sheet of plastic, and then you’re suddenly floating gently in the sky.

But what a venue! The glistening Atlantic disappearing over the edge of the horizon and mountain peaks rising above us, while we flew alongside cliff edges and watched birds soaring at our elevation before we’d catch lift on an updraught and ascend into the air with a similar grace to our feathered companions. It was a unique and thrilling experience, and it was the perfect way to round off our adventures in Maderia.

Visit Madeira

We stayed at the Sé Boutique Hotel in Funchal, which has a groovy rooftop bar overlooking the city that’s the perfect place to unwind after a long day of exploring. Madeira has an incredible foodie scene, and some of our favourite restaurants we went to include the Three House Restaurant, with a superb chef’s table experience, the casual, local Barreirinha Bar Café burger joint overlooking the sea, and the très-chic Kampo.

There are plenty of quality tour operators to help get the most out of your visit, and the weather tends to be warm year-round, although it can get cool in the mountains so it’s worth bringing a light jacket with you on your hikes. You can find out everything you need to know about visiting Madeira at the official website here.