São Roque do Faial

The Ribeiro Frio forest park, in Santana, shows the flora of Madeira's original forest: laurel, folhado, til, vinhático and endemics such as isoplexis, massaroco, estreleiras and the mountain orchid; the firecrest, chaffinch and trocaz pigeon, all endemic, can be seen. The Posto Aquícola has bred rainbow trout since 1960 to restock the island's streams — renovated in 2019, it receives thousands of visitors a year; entry costs €3 for those over 12. Start of PR 10 Levada do Furado and PR 11 Vereda dos Balcões; frequent fog.

The island's third-highest peak, at 1,818 m, and the most visited thanks to its road and facilities: from up here, the whole Maciço Montanhoso, Ponta de São Lourenço, Curral das Freiras and, on clear days, Porto Santo, with the Atlantic as a backdrop. The sunrise spectacle, weather permitting, draws ever more onlookers and photographers — the best hour, provided you wrap up. It is the start of the Vereda do Areeiro (PR 1) to Pico das Torres (1,851 m) and Pico Ruivo (1,862 m), fully reopened on 1 May 2026. Access: car park charged at €4.00 per hour; a shuttle is run by Horários do Funchal (timetables on their site). The lookout itself is free.

On the ER 103, in the parish of São Roque do Faial, the Ribeiro Frio lookout overhangs the site of the same name, in the heart of the northern Laurissilva: laurel, folhado, til, vinhático. Frequent fog gives the landscape its enigmatic aura. It is the starting point of PR 10 Levada do Furado and PR 11 Vereda dos Balcões, where you meet the Madeira firecrest, the Madeiran chaffinch and, more rarely, the trocaz pigeon.

The balcony over the Ribeira da Metade valley, a picture of monumental proportions dominated by the greens of the Laurissilva; on clear days, the central massif with Pico do Areeiro, Pico das Torres and Pico Ruivo, and Penha d'Águia. You reach it by the Vereda dos Balcões (PR 11), 1.5 km almost flat from Ribeiro Frio along the Levada da Serra do Faial — access €4.50 with SIMplifica booking — among endemic laurels (laurel, til, vinhático, folhado) and exotic broadleaves such as oak and plane. The endemic chaffinches readily come close to visitors. The lookout itself has no fee.