Madeira (landscape) 1Praise of the landscape
Madeira (landscape)
Original title: Madeira (Paisagem da)
A short survey of the celebrated scenery of Madeira, noting the many literary tributes to it and listing inland and coastal viewpoints especially worth visiting.
1Praise of the landscape
Countless works in prose and verse, both in Portuguese and in foreign languages, sing and extol the well-known and by now proverbial beauties of Madeira. Among them stand out admirably the marvellous ruggedness of its high mountains, the improbable steepness of its ravines and gorges, the depth of its valleys, the capricious relief of its terrain, the varied tones and hues of its rich crops, the variety and fragrance of its flowers, the eternal spring of its climate, its famous wines, fruit and embroidery, its typical and interesting regional customs, the patriarchal hospitality of its inhabitants, etc., etc. We shall not attempt even a pale description, however fleeting, of this whole array of wonders with which divine omnipotence has endowed the privileged land of our birth. We shall confine ourselves to drawing the reader’s attention to the brilliant pages that various writers have devoted to extolling these astonishing beauties, carving their enduring impressions into passages of the most beautiful and inimitable prose. In the Dicionário Corográfico da Madeira we recorded, over some ten pages, many extracts from these brilliant writings, which limited space does not allow us to reproduce here.
2Places worth visiting
In discussing the marvellous scenery of Madeira, we cannot fail to mention, if only in passing, a number of places that deserve a special visit for the astonishing panoramas that can be enjoyed from them in rapt delight. In the interior of the island we would point to Rabaçal, Monte Medonho, the Fontes da Ribeira do Inferno, the Cumeada de São Vicente, Pico dos Barcelos, Pico Ruivo, Pico do Arieiro, Boca dos Namorados, Ribeiro Frio, the Ribeira de São Jorge at Santana, Pico da Suna and Terreiro da Luta. On the coast there are Piedade, Ponta de São Lourenço, Garajau, Praia Formosa, Fojo, Cabo Girão, the mouth of the Ribeira da Janela, that of the Ribeira do Inferno, the Ribeira de João Delgado, the chapel of São Vicente (St Vincent of Saragossa), Entroza, Ponta de São Jorge, Rocha do Navio and Porto da Cruz. Many streams have beautiful waterfalls, and from every high point one can admire wide and varied views of unsurpassable beauty.
In this article
Place
Places mentioned · 26
- Boca dos Namorados
Câmara de Lobos. Viewpoint recommended.
Boca dos Namorados is a famous viewpoint and pass near Pico dos Bodes, above Jardim da Serra. It is the most picturesque viewpoint of the parish, once much visited, including by foreigners, and recommended in accounts of the Madeiran landscape.
- Cabo Girão
Câmara de Lobos. Sea cliff viewpoint recommended.
Sheer sea cliff about 600 m high (listed at 589 m) and a recommended viewpoint. Its cliffs contain dykes, and it is one of only two places where C. dissectum grows. A rockfall from it killed Henrique Alemão in his boat.
- Chapel of St Vincent
São Vicente. Coastal chapel site recommended for its scenery.
A small chapel dedicated to the martyr São Vicente, built by the local people in 1692 on a solitary basalt rock at the mouth of the stream that crosses the town of São Vicente. It is widely known from engravings and postcards, and the site is recommended for its coastal scenery.
- Encumeada de São Vicente
São Vicente. Mountain pass viewpoint recommended.
The Encumeada de São Vicente is a pass over 1,000 metres high on Madeira's central ridge between Serra de Água and São Vicente, from which both the north and south coasts are visible. It is cited as the best-known encumeada on the island and a recommended viewpoint. It has been reachable by car since 1916, and a tourist rest house was built nearby in 1939.
- Entrosa
São Vicente. Coastal scenic spot recommended.
The Entrosa is a steep escarpment rising from the right bank near the mouth of the ribeira do Porco in Boaventura towards the parish of Arco de São Jorge. A zigzag path across it links the two parishes and forms part of the road around the coast of Madeira. It is recommended as a coastal scenic spot and marks one limit of the range of the couve da rocha.
- Fojo
Funchal. Coastal scenic spot recommended.
The Fojo is a natural excavation west of Ponta da Cruz in the municipality of Funchal. It is a deep pit in tuff, linked to the sea by an underground channel, and is thought to be a collapsed lava tube. It is recommended as a coastal scenic spot.
- Fontes da Ribeira do Inferno
Porto Moniz · São Vicente. Inland scenic spot recommended.
Inland scenic spot recommended.
- Garajau
Santa Cruz. Coastal viewpoint recommended.
Garajau is a headland closing Funchal bay to the east, 2.9 miles from Funchal, named after the terns found there by the discoverers. It is topped by a basalt dyke, bears a chapel of Nossa Senhora das Neves and the 1927 Sacred Heart statue, and had a telegraph from 1839 to 1847. It is noted for volcanic bombs, a surviving dragon tree, the only wild norça, Senecio incrassatus and deep-water shells, and is recommended as a viewpoint.
- Monte Medonho
São Vicente. Inland viewpoint recommended.
Monte Medonho is an upland site in São Vicente parish where the state-owned Monte Medonho levada begins, which since 1908 has irrigated Ribeira Brava and Tábua. It is recommended as an inland viewpoint.
- Pico da Suna
Machico. Viewpoint recommended.
Pico da Suna is a peak in the municipality of Machico and the source of the Ribeira do Porto da Cruz. It is recommended as a viewpoint, and its forests were damaged by the fire of 1919.
- Pico do Arieiro
Câmara de Lobos. Peak recommended for its panorama.
Pico do Arieiro is a prominent peak of Madeira's central range, recommended for its panorama. A meteorological post at 1,700 metres was proposed there, and sub-zero temperatures were recorded at it; Sorbus maderensis grows nearby.
- Pico dos Barcelos
Funchal. Viewpoint recommended.
A hill and viewpoint in Santo António parish overlooking Funchal. A commemorative cross was inaugurated there in 1941.