Local secret
A plateau of ancient laurel trees that appear and vanish in the fog, part of a UNESCO World Heritage forest.
The trees here are til, a laurel that grows only in Macaronesia, and some of them are centuries old. They stand apart on open pasture, twisted by the wind, with cows grazing between them.
Most visitors hope for sun. At Fanal you hope for fog: when the cloud comes up from the north coast, the forest turns into the photograph everybody came for.
A tipGo early, and bring a waterproof layer whatever the forecast says in Funchal.
- From Funchalabout 1 hour 15 minutes by car
- Altitudeabout 1,150 m
- UNESCO World HeritageLaurisilva of Madeira, 1999
Taken home
At the end of the route, in Funchal, four artists draw whatever you bring back from the island: a place, a flower, a word, a set of coordinates.
The outline of the island
Madeira in a single line.