Chasing Waterfalls in Madeira

We have not been sticking to the rivers or the lakes that we’re used to.

We initially set out for the Vereda do Fanal hike, a point to point trail through a forest that is sometimes coated in a spooky fog. On this day, the clouds had dissipated by the time we reached the trailhead, so we got a sunny forest hike instead.

You can imagine how spooky and witchy this *could* be though, with different weather.

We had planned to hike to the end and then taxi back to the scooter. But, a couple of kilometers in, there was a fork in the trail. A sign indicated that the 25 Fontes waterfalls were only 1.6km down the alternative trail, so we decided to take a detour.

Now, the trail we had been following had been quite flat and easy, and so we assumed the detour would also be that. But in fact, those 1.6km were almost entirely stairs.

The stairs brought us further and further down into the valley, where the sound of rushing water grew increasingly loud.

And here it is: the 25 Fontes!

This beautiful group of waterfalls is almost 30m high.

We were surprised to find a big crowd at the waterfall, as there had been no one on the trail. But it turned out that there was an alternative, much easier route to these waterfalls that begins in the valley. Oh well. Back up the stairs we go!

We still have to return sometime to finish that foggy forest hike.