Santana
The lake at the theme park. The triangular houses are in the village.
The road from the south
The theme park’s own visit page, read 7 October 2026, says a car from the Aeroporto Internacional da Madeira to Santana takes, on average, "cerca de 35 a 45 minutos". That page does not print a driving time from Funchal. Visit Madeira’s getting-around page prints one timed drive, and it is the other direction: airport to Funchal, "cerca de 20 a 25 minutos", by Aerobus, taxi, transfer, or hire car. The same page says the expressways and the main roads have no toll, for residents or for visitors, and that some mountain roads have many bends.
The park says the way in is signed from Machico along the via-expresso to Santana. The ER101 network page, dated 18-11-2016 and still the page online on 7 October 2026, calls that stretch a Via Expresso VE1, run by Concessionária Viaexpresso, S.A., from Machico (Fazenda ER106) to Santana (Rib. S. Jorge). The next piece, Santana (Rib. S. Jorge) to Santana (ER219), is a via regular under the Direção Regional de Estradas. The ER101 section sheet, dated 23-11-2016, gives the VE1 piece as 18,30 km. The tunnel table on that sheet names Túnel do Piquinho on the earlier stretch, Machico (Nó Machico Sul) to Machico (Fazenda ER106), 437 (c) / 460 (d). It does not name a tunnel on the 18,30 km VE1 into Santana. None of those pages prints a speed, or a driving time from Funchal.
Further along the same 23-11-2016 sheet, Santana (ER219) to Arco de São Jorge is marked VE1 em construção, 5,99 km. That is the wording still on the page. It is not a works notice from 2026.
Bus
SIGA’s Santana page is still titled 56. On 7 October 2026 it showed the old number and the new number, and it says the timetable viewer is still in development. The PDF it links is dated 2026-07-22 in the file itself. The sheet on that page is headed SIGA and CAM, Rede Santana. The renumbering sheet, in force from 09/03/2026, puts these rows on the page of Companhia de Autocarros da Madeira. 56 801 Funchal / Santana. 803 Santana / Achada Cedro Gordo. 804 Santana / Arco S. Jorge. 804 Santana / Lombo Galego. 103 850 Funchal / Arco São Jorge (Ida). 860 Funchal / Arco São Jorge (Volta). 133 802 Santana / Porto Da Cruz. 138 875 Funchal / São Jorge (Ida). 885 Funchal / São Jorge (Volta). The SIGA notice of 20/03/2026 says the new numbers do not change the route or the timetable. Stops change over gradually, digital first. The operators named on that notice are CAM, Horários do Funchal and SIGA Rodoeste.
The park’s visit page still names lines 56 and 103 for a bus to the park. Those are the old numbers. On the CAM sheet they are 801, and 850 / 860.
The timetable image on the SIGA page marks some trips "Viagens de ligação direta ao Parque Temático da Madeira". It says the clocks at the intermediate stops are approximate, and that the sheet can change for traffic or bad weather. No buses on 25 de Dezembro. 3º feira de carnaval uses the weekday non-school timetable. A trip marked serviço a pedido has to be booked, preferably by email info@cam-madeira.pt, or by phone 291 201 150 as a last resort, by 16h00 on the previous working day. No departure clock is copied here. Open the PDF before you travel. If a time on that sheet is wrong, the SIGA page gives these phones: Horários do Funchal +351 291 705 555, SIGA Rodoeste +351 291 220 148, CAM +351 291 201 151. imt@madeira.gov.pt, +351 291 145 180, 9:00-12:30, 14:00-17:30.
Parking
The park page says Estacionamento Gratuito. It does not print a count of spaces. The address on that page is Estrada do Parque Temático, n.º 1, 9230-098 Santana.
The village is a different stop. The Núcleo de Casas Típicas sits "junto à Câmara Municipal de Santana", on the Visit Madeira viewpoint page. That page does not price a car park. The council tourism page, updated 16 setembro 2021, does not print a charge or a space count either. The desk is at Avenida 25 de maio, nº2, Sítio do Serrado, 9230-116 Santana, phone (+351) 291 570 200, gap@cm-santana.com, 09h00 – 17h00.
The getting-around page describes parking colours for the island, not a tariff for this village: white lines free (some of them for residents only), blue lines paid, yellow lines no stopping. Payment is generally Monday to Friday 8h–20h and Saturday 8h–14h. Sundays and holidays are free. Pay at the meter or in the iPark Driver app. The Santana pages do not say which colour the village car park uses. Queimadas is a separate, paid car park. It is under the trails.
The triangular houses and the park
Visit Madeira’s Santana page calls the triangular houses, covered in colmo, the symbol of this north-coast municipality. It puts about 8800 inhabitants on 96,2 km², in six parishes: Arco de São Jorge, Faial, Ilha, Santana, São Jorge and São Roque do Faial. UNESCO named it a biosphere reserve in 2011. The same page places Pico Ruivo, 1862 metres, in the municipality, and names Pico do Areeiro at 1818 metres. The houses page says they are wood, with a thatch that used wheat and rye, a steep roof to drain the rain, and the colours blue, red and white. Inside, an attic for the crops and a ground floor split into kitchen and bedroom.
There are two public groups. The núcleo, next to the council, is the houses adapted to now, with local goods inside, and a view over the green fields. The theme park has its own Aldeamento de Casas Típicas. The picture on this page is the lake, not the houses by the council.
Visit Madeira: the park covers 7 hectares and opened in October 2004. It lists the aldeamento, the Quintinha, the Viagem Fantástica and the Pavilhão Júnior, plus artisans in wool, linen, Bordado Madeira and wicker, a grocery, a wood-fired oven for the local bread, endemic gardens, a replica of the Monte train, and a walk on the lake. The park’s own page: open 10h00–18h00, Encerrado à segunda-feira. Allow "2 a 4 horas". Phone (+351) 291 570 410, geral@parquetematicodamadeira.pt. The simulator, the boats, the Monte train and the demonstrations can keep their own hours. Ask on the day. The visit page points you to a tickets page and does not print a price in the text read on 7 October 2026. No ticket price is copied here. Bring a coat. The same page says the weather can turn quickly, especially on the north coast.
Queimadas and Achada do Teixeira
PR9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde was marked ABERTO on the Visit Madeira page read 7 October 2026. 8,7 km plus 8,7 km back, moderate, 6h30. It starts at Parque Florestal das Queimadas and the card ends it at Caldeirão do Inferno. Altitude 1020 m / 872 m. The Casa de Abrigo das Queimadas keeps the triangular thatched shape. The page puts you in Laurissilva, on a levada from the século XVIII that feeds the fields of Faial, through quatro túneis cut in the rock, then to the Caldeirão Verde lake under a fall of cerca de 100 m. Pay on SIMplifica. The English card prints 4,50€ for a visitor over 12, and an exemption at 12 and under. The Portuguese card, in the text read that day, does not print the euro fee. It does print parking at 2,00 € / hora. The IFCN fee FAQ, updated 02 junho 2026, prints the 2026 visitor fee for one classified trail other than PR1 as 4,50€. The full PR1 ticket is 10,50€ and includes PR 1.2. Children of 12 and under are exempt and still have to reserve. Residents of the Region are exempt and still have to reserve. The reservation is only on SIMplifica, including for people who pay nothing. Rain, by itself, is not a reason for a refund. A new date or a refund is only when the trail is officially closed or restricted, and you have 10 working days from the reservation date to ask.
The IFCN Queimadas page, updated 27 fevereiro 2025, marks public parking as paid, public toilets as paid, and ACESSO A TRANSPORTES PÚBLICOS as NÃO. There is a café and a picnic area. The reception page, updated 16 fevereiro 2026, says you pay for the car park on the ground floor, and that the price is the one in Portaria n.º 801/2025, de 10 de dezembro. That ordinance prices Queimadas parking by the hour, in the columns 2026 to 2029, at 2,00 €, 2,25 €, 2,35 € and 2,50 €. The 2026 column for the toilets is 0,50 € per person. Casa das Tradições Madeirenses: a visitor over 12 pays 3€. The reception is open every day except Christmas and 1 January, weekdays 9:00–18:00, weekends and holidays 11:00–18:00. Phone (+351) 291 145 590, mobile 924441543, ifcn@madeira.gov.pt.
Achada do Teixeira is the start of PR 1.2 Vereda do Pico Ruivo, marked ABERTO. 2,8 km out and 2,8 km back, moderate, 1h30, to Pico Ruivo at 1862 metres. The page names the rock "Homem em pé" at the start, and shelters for a sudden change, including a sea of clouds. The fee is the same SIMplifica rule: 4,50€ on its own, or inside the 10,50€ PR1 ticket. The road up is ER 218, Santana (ER 213) to Achada do Teixeira, 9800 m on the register dated 18-11-2016. That is the length of the regional road, not a driving time from Funchal. This site has the Achada do Teixeira picture and the Pico do Areeiro picture.
Cloud on the north coast
Visit Madeira’s FAQ puts the island’s averages, generally, between 17 °C in winter and 25 °C in summer. It says the climate is not the same everywhere: fog and some cold are common in the mountains, sun and heat are common by the sea. The south tends to be warmer and drier. The north and the high ground are more exposed to wind and rain. Rain, strong wind or fog can close a trail. Check the trail page before you pay, because a wet day is not, by itself, a refund. The lake picture is for cloud on the ridge before you drive north or up to Queimadas. It is not a closure notice.
What the picture shows
The picture on this page is the NetMadeira camera, on the lake at Parque Temático da Madeira. NetMadeira’s own page says the camera sits in the park in Santana. It does not show the triangular houses by the council, and it does not show a free space in the car park.
Sources, read 7 October 2026
- Visit Madeira, Santana
- Visit Madeira, casas de Santana
- Visit Madeira, núcleo de casas típicas
- Visit Madeira, Parque Temático (Portuguese)
- Visit Madeira, theme park (English)
- Visit Madeira, getting around
- Visit Madeira, FAQ
- Parque Temático, plan your visit
- Regional roads, ER101 network
- Regional roads, ER101 sections
- Regional roads, ER 218
- SIGA, Santana (56 / 801)
- SIGA timetable PDF, Santana network
- SIGA, new line numbers, 20 March 2026
- SIGA renumbering sheet, from 09/03/2026
- Visit Madeira, PR9 (Portuguese)
- Visit Madeira, PR9 (English)
- Visit Madeira, PR 1.2
- IFCN, trail-fee FAQ
- IFCN, Parque Florestal das Queimadas
- IFCN, Casa das Queimadas reception
- Portaria n.º 801/2025
- Câmara Municipal de Santana, tourism
- NetMadeira, the lake picture
- The Achada do Teixeira picture on this site
- The Pico do Areeiro picture on this site
Who runs the camera
- SantanaImage by NetMadeira
- Elevation
- Sea level
- Coordinates
- 32.8000, -16.8833
- Region
- Santana
- Camera
- Live picture
The view
The lake
The lake
- •Cloud on the hills.
- •A busy-looking park.
- •Not the houses.
Highlights
- ✓The lake.
- ✓The hills.
- ✓Not the village centre.
Santana Weather
High-Altitude Coastal Plateau
- Santana sits on a green plateau 400 meters above sea level on the lush north coast
- Cooler temperatures and frequent mist create ideal conditions for farming and gardens
- Traditional thatched A-frame houses were designed to shed heavy north-coast rains
- Key hub for hikers accessing Achada do Teixeira and the Laurissilva forest trails
Landscape & geography
Getting there
Related Views
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Visitor logistics
Not the houses
- Houses: The village, not this picture.
- Ticket: The gate, not the lake looking pretty.
- Image by NetMadeira.
A Local Guide
Location history
- The view
- The lake and the gardens at the theme park on the edge of Santana.
- Useful for
- See if the hills behind the lake are in cloud before you drive up ER218 toward Achada do Teixeira.
- It will not show
- The triangular houses are in the village. They are not in this picture.
- A pretty lake is not a ticket. The gate decides if the park is open.
- The camera
- Image by NetMadeira
- Getting there
- North coast. From Funchal, out through Machico and along, or over the mountains when that road is clear.