Calheta

Madeira's first artificial beach: opened in 2004 next to Calheta's marina, 100 m of golden sand imported from Morocco and about 7,300 m² of sunbathing area, protected by two breakwaters. Free access; loungers and parasols, a bar, changing rooms and first aid. Warm, calm water, popular for canoeing and windsurfing. Blue Flag 2026. Bathing season 2026: 29 June – 30 September, a supervised beach with lifeguards assured. In a swell follow the flags: red = no bathing.

Paul do Mar's lively beach, one of the most popular on the west coast: pebbles, clear water warm almost all year, a relaxed atmosphere. Unsupervised but well equipped — bar, sun deck, parasols, showers — with the village bars and restaurants serving this coast's fish all around. Much loved by surfers, it has hosted several competitions. Bathing season 2026: 15 June – 15 September, but lifeguard cover not yet confirmed. In a swell follow the flags: red = no bathing.

At the eastern end of Paul do Mar, next to the harbour, the pebble beach of a village that has lived from the sea for centuries: on one side the narrow streets sheltered by the cliff, on the other the Atlantic where the traditional fishing boats float. Clear, mild water all year. In July the village hosts the limpet festival, which draws Madeirans and tourists. Bathing season 2026: 15 June – 15 September, but lifeguard cover not yet confirmed. In a swell follow the flags: red = no bathing.

Jardim do Mar's surf spot, known to surfers worldwide: basalt pebbles at the eastern end of the village, a pontoon and a ramp for getting into the water. Between point breaks and reef breaks, the North Atlantic swell delights experienced surfers — the site has hosted the Red Bull Big Wave Challenge and a world championship event. The village, set on a fajã below the cliffs, is worth the stroll. Bathing season 2026: 15 June – 15 September, but lifeguard cover not yet confirmed. In a swell follow the flags: red = no bathing.

The pebble beach of Calheta, a step from the town centre, quieter than the big imported-sand beach opened in 2004 right beside it. Calheta is one of the least rainy municipalities in the archipelago, which lengthens the bathing season. Several fish restaurants stand close by.

Jardim do Mar's other beach, one of the island's most famous among surf lovers: pebbles, free access, and a swell powerful enough to be reserved for advanced surfers — hence the national and international contests held here regularly. Around it, the village's low houses and narrow streets, and the majestic fajã closed off by the cliffs. Not an official bathing water in 2026: no lifeguard service is guaranteed; follow the notices on site and the flags.

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).

A fall of about 140 m at the island's south-western tip, in the parish of Ponta do Pargo. It is reached from Pedregal by a short, easy path of about 600 m one way, which leads to the viewpoint it is seen from. From there you also take in the Atlantic and the Ponta do Pargo lighthouse, set on a cliff at 290 m. The waterfall comes out of a jagged, green-covered slope.

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.

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.

A basin formed by the waters of Ribeira do Lajeado, which fall here from the top of the escarpment. You go down by PR 6.3, 1.8 km one way from the Casa de Abrigo do Rabaçal, about an hour and a half, an easy path. The route crosses a transition zone between high-altitude heath and the Laurissilva: the official page names the Madeira blueberry and the laurel.

A sixteenth-century chapel, begun around 1510 as the oratory of the houses of Pedro Gonçalves da Câmara, son of Funchal's second captain. The Renaissance marble holy water font was set here in 1530. The architecture mixes Manueline and Revivalist, the latter above all in the wide rectangular galilee opened on the main front, carried on marble columns with Corinthian capitals. Inside, a painted Way of the Cross and above all an octagonal Mudéjar alfarje ceiling, white and blue, with white and gilded cordage. Classified a Monument of Public Interest.

Founded in 1529 by Francisco Homem de Gouveia and his wife Isabel Afonso, beside a large estate that then served as the seat of a morgadio. It is a small, popular building of the kind raised all over the island during the first century of settlement. It is classified a Monument of Public Interest. It stands at Estreito da Calheta, a parish whose name comes from its closeness to Calheta and from the narrow shape of its valley.

The parish church of Ponta do Pargo, on the plateau of the western tip. The parish was set up in the mid-sixteenth century in a small São Pedro chapel, reworked in 1599 and 1620; the present building comes from the works of 1851 and keeps nothing of the old one. Mannerist in style, it holds the eye with its bell tower, gabled front and arched portal. Inside is one of the island's oldest pieces: a gilded silver chalice on a six-pointed star base, older than the church itself.

On a hill above Calheta, just over thirty minutes from Funchal, Madeira's contemporary-art museum: opened in October 2004 in a building by the architect Paulo David, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award in 2005 and awarded the Alvar Aalto medal in 2012 for its integration into the landscape. The collection, moved from the São Tiago fortress, gathers about 400 pieces from the 1960s to today — Lourdes Castro, Vieira da Silva, Fernando Calhau, Palolo, Cabrita Reis, Blaufuks, Ana Hatherly… — with an auditorium, library, shop, cafeteria and restaurant, temporary exhibitions, concerts and theatre.

Madeira's "white gold" told where it is still processed: the Sociedade dos Engenhos da Calheta was founded between the late 19th and early 20th century, in full industrialisation, and its mill is one of the island's oldest. The museum recreates the factory's story and shows the transformation of cane into cane honey and aguardente, two regional products of national and international renown, through 19th- and 20th-century pieces — genuine industrial-archaeology objects — a bilingual film and panels.

A communion of sea, cliffs and late sunsets: Calheta is the Region's largest municipality, 116 km² and about 12,000 inhabitants in eight parishes (Arco da Calheta, Calheta, Estreito da Calheta, Fajã da Ovelha, Jardim do Mar, Paul do Mar, Ponta do Pargo, Prazeres), with one of the island's lowest rainfall rates and a mild climate all year. The town lines up its imported-sand beach (2004, Blue Flag) and its 337-berth marina, the Engenho da Calheta — one of the island's oldest cane mills, for honey and aguardente — and, on the hill, Casa das Mudas, an award-winning contemporary-art museum (Alvar Aalto medal 2012). Rabaçal, Paul da Serra and Ponta do Pargo lie within it.

The west-coast village set on a fajã at the foot of tall cliffs, whose name recalls the wild flowers that once covered it; narrow lanes and traditional low houses, a recently restored water mill, and a worldwide reputation among surfers: the Portinho beach — point breaks and reef breaks, Red Bull Big Wave Challenge, a world championship event — and Enseada, for advanced riders, get some of the best waves in Europe. You reach it by road or, when open, by the Vereda do Jardim do Mar (PR 20) from Prazeres.

In the south-west of the island, a parish of the municipality of Calheta shaped by the sea: a "paul", a valley sheltered by imposing rocks on one side and washed by the ocean on the other. An important fishing centre — the fish makes the restaurants' reputation — the village had a tuna-export cannery from 1912, whose chimney still stands. As at Jardim do Mar, the waves draw surfers; the Porto and Ribeira das Galinhas beaches line the seafront and its bars. You get down by road or by the Caminho Real do Paul do Mar (PR 19) from Prazeres, 534 m of paved steps. Limpet festival in July.