Torres (peak)
Original title: Torres (Pico das)
Describes the Pico das Torres, a group of steep rocky peaks near Pico Ruivo whose highest summit, the Pico do Gato, is the second-highest point of Madeira, and notes the few recorded ascents.
The Pico das Torres (‘towers’) is made up of several steep rocky summits, the highest of which is the Pico do Gato. It lies a short distance from Pico Ruivo (‘russet peak’), though separated from it by a deep ravine. To reach it, one takes the lombo (ridge between valleys) of Furão and the Ribeira do Gato; the footpath, however, is dreadful and at times runs along the edge of fearsome precipices.
The Pico do Gato, the highest point of Madeira after Pico Ruivo, said to be about 1,830 metres high, is known, one may say, only to shepherds, for it is very hard to climb because of its sheer slopes, where there is not the slightest trace of a footpath. We heard from some men of the Curral, who accompanied us to Pico Ruivo and to the foot of the Pico das Torres, that an English lady once reached the top of the Pico do Gato. To get there she had to be roped and hauled up by cords at the steepest places by the Madeiran guides she had brought with her. A guide to Madeira written in German states that in 1905 the Pico do Gato was visited by two individuals of Russian origin, relatives of the author of that guide, but we know of no exploration of that high point of the island by scientists, Portuguese or foreign.
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Places mentioned · 07- Torres · Subject
Santana
Group of steep rocky peaks near Pico Ruivo with castle-like denuded dykes. Its highest summit, the Pico do Gato, is the second-highest point of Madeira, and few ascents have been recorded.
- Pico das Torres · Subject
Santana. Subject of the entry, a group of sheer rocky peaks near Pico Ruivo.
Group of sheer rocky peaks in central Madeira near Pico Ruivo, listed at about 1,830 metres and visible at the head of the Vale da Metade. Its highest summit, the Pico do Gato, is the island's second-highest point, and few ascents are recorded.
- Curral das Freiras
Câmara de Lobos. Home of the local men who guided the author and told of an Englishwoman's ascent.
Small inland parish set in a deep valley believed to be an extinct volcanic crater and Madeira's main eruptive focus. The estate was bought for the nuns of Santa Clara, who fled there in 1566 and gave it their name, and it was created a parish in 1790. It was earlier a pasture and a refuge for runaway slaves and criminals, and it became a julgado of the Funchal comarca in 1927.
- Lombo do Furão
Câmara de Lobos. Ridge used on the route to the Pico das Torres.
Lombo do Furão is a ridge route in the central mountains of Madeira. It offers a steep and dangerous short cut to the summit of Pico Ruivo and is also used on the route to the Pico das Torres.
- Pico do Gato
Câmara de Lobos. Highest summit of the Pico das Torres, said to be about 1,830 m, second only to Pico Ruivo.
Pico do Gato is the highest summit of the Pico das Torres group, said to be about 1,830 m high and second only to Pico Ruivo.
- Pico Ruivo
Santana. Highest peak of Madeira, lying close to the Pico das Torres across a deep ravine.
Highest peak of Madeira, standing on the rim of the main crater and given as 1,861 m in one list and 1,950 m in another. Its height was measured by several expeditions, including those of Ross and Hochstetter. It is the source of the Ribeira do Faial.
- Ribeira do Gato
Câmara de Lobos. Stream valley followed on the difficult path to the peaks.
Stream valley followed on the difficult path to the peaks.