Madeira Ativa › Levada trails › PR 3
Vereda do Burro (PR 3) is a easy 7.2 km walking trail on Madeira, running from Pico do Areeiro to Ribeira das Cales. It climbs about 58 m and descends about 707 m along the way. That is close to level walking for most of the way, about 8 m of climb per kilometre. The route loses far more height than it gains (707 m down against 58 m up), so walked in this direction it is mostly descent — hard on the knees rather than the lungs. It runs between 1152 m and 1796 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 2 h 40. Access status is currently open. The trail is waymarked in yellow.
Official walking time and difficulty from Visit Madeira, as on the trailhead board.
Of the surveyed sections, 22% are half a metre wide or less and 11% have no railing. If exposure is a problem for you, this is one to think about rather than one to improvise. These figures come from OpenStreetMap surveys covering 32% of the route, so the unsurveyed remainder may differ.
OpenStreetMap, where surveyed; mapped on 32% of the route.
No bus route is mapped near either end, so this one effectively needs a car or a transfer. 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 3 is 2 h 40 over 7.2 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.
Not directly — no bus route is mapped near either end.
It runs between 1152 m and 1796 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.