Madeira Ativa › Levada trails › PR 1.1
Vereda da Ilha (PR 1.1) is a moderate 8.2 km walking trail on Madeira, running from Casa de Abrigo do Pico Ruivo to Ilha. It climbs about 74 m and descends about 1314 m along the way. That is close to level walking for most of the way, about 9 m of climb per kilometre. The route loses far more height than it gains (1314 m down against 74 m up), so walked in this direction it is mostly descent — hard on the knees rather than the lungs. It runs between 481 m and 1741 m above sea level. At that height the trail is often above or inside the cloud, and noticeably colder than the coast, whatever Funchal is doing. It is a point-to-point route. The official walking time is 3 h. Access status is currently open. The trail is waymarked in yellow.
Official walking time and difficulty from Visit Madeira, as on the trailhead board.
Narrow sections are limited (2% of the surveyed route), and 1% is without a railing. These figures come from OpenStreetMap surveys covering 84% of the route, so the unsurveyed remainder may differ.
OpenStreetMap, where surveyed; mapped on 84% of the route.
Only one end is served by a bus (103, 138); the other needs a car, a taxi or a lift. It is point-to-point, not a loop, so a car left at the start is a car you have to walk back to — most people arrange a drop-off, a taxi, or the bus. No car park is mapped within 600 m of either end.
Official route page (visitmadeira.com) ↗
The official walking time for PR 1.1 is 3 h over 8.2 km. That is the signed estimate at the trailhead, walking steadily and without long stops.
No. This trail is free to walk; some other marked trails on Madeira are not.
Partly. Lines 103, 138 reach one end only; the other needs a car, a taxi or a lift.
It runs between 481 m and 1741 m above sea level. At that height the trail is often above or inside the cloud, and noticeably colder than the coast, whatever Funchal is doing.
The last published status is open. Closures on Madeira follow storms and landslides and change without much warning, so check the official status on the day.