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📡 Today's status

The IFCN's official status, read every day. Green only when the IFCN writes « aberto » with no reserve.

● Partially closed« (circulação controlada num único sentido: Rabaçal – 25 Fontes (ida) pela Levada das 25 Fontes e 25 Fontes – Rabaçal (regresso) pelo troço alternativo, denominado de Bypass) » — IFCN

Madeira's most walked levada, for visitors and Madeirans alike. It starts at the Rabaçal car park on the ER 105, 4.3 km to the Lagoa das 25 Fontes and 4.3 km back, about 3 h, moderate, between 964 and 1,288 m — the initial descent to Casa do Rabaçal has to be climbed again on the way back. The path follows the Levada Nova do Rabaçal, known as the 25 Fontes levada, almost parallel to the Levada do Risco (PR 6.1) with which it shares its start, and reaches the lagoon fed by water from the Paul da Serra plateau, which resurfaces here through twenty-five springs: a textbook suspended aquifer whose abundance and permanence decided the building of the region's levadas, classified as geosite C01 – 25 Fontes. On the way, views over the Ribeira da Janela valley and the deep green of the Laurissilva, a UNESCO World Heritage site; the captured water then crosses the island through the Túnel do Cavalo to the Calheta hydroelectric plant, the taps and the fields of the municipality. Plenty of shade; no fountain mentioned. The regional forestry institute announces controlled one-way circulation (Rabaçal → 25 Fontes along the levada, return by an alternative section): follow the signs on the day.

Highlights

  • Lagoa das 25 Fontes
  • Geosite C01
  • Laurissilva
  • Ribeira da Janela valley
  • Controlled one-way
Difficulty
Moderate
Length
4.3 km
Elevation gain
324 m
Duration
3 h (round trip)
Price
€4.50 (over 12) · SIMplifica booking · free for residents and under-13s
Municipality
Calheta
🎟️ Book on SIMplifica🗺️ See the route on the map📍 Start🏁 End

Track for guidance only.

Places within 2 km of the route

  • 🌿 Nature

    Rabaçal

    On Paul da Serra, the Pico da Urze balcony opens onto the island's largest valley covered in Laurissilva — a UNESCO World Heritage site, a Natura 2000 site, classified as an area of rest and silence by the Parque Natural da Madeira. From the ER 105 car park set off Madeira's most famous trails: the Levada das 25 Fontes (PR 6), the Levada do Risco (PR 6.1), Alecrim (PR 6.2), Lagoa do Vento (PR 6.3) and, below, Casa do Rabaçal, the meeting point with its reception centre on the history of the levadas; the Túnel do Cavalo (1863–1877) and the Túnel das Estrebarias (1855) tell of the first crossing of the northern waters to the south. All trails require SIMplifica booking (€4.50).

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  • 🌿 Nature

    Cascata do Risco

    At the end of Levada do Risco, at Rabaçal: a fall that drops vertically and draws a white line on the dark rock. It is reached by PR 6.1, an easy 1.5 km path one way from the ER 105, about two hours there and back, at some 1,000 m of altitude. The path shares its start with Levada das 25 Fontes (PR 6). The Risco viewpoint closes the route.

    €4.50 per visitor over 12, SIMplifica booking (PR 6.1)
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  • 🌿 Nature

    Lagoa das 25 Fontes

    A pool at the foot of a wall from which the waters coming down off Paul da Serra emerge: the official page counts twenty-five springs, hence the name. The site is classified geosite C01 – 25 Fontes for its scientific value, and it is this underground circulation that made the building of the levadas possible. It is reached by PR 6, 4.3 km one way from the ER 105 at Rabaçal, about three hours, moderate, between 964 and 1,288 m.

    €4.50 per visitor over 12, SIMplifica booking (PR 6)
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  • 🔭 Viewpoint

    Rabaçal (Calheta)

    A viewpoint at Ponto, municipality of Calheta. It stands 1,214 m above sea level; the DROTe 2023 orthophoto shows a platform or a parking area there.

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