Hiking
Levada walks, and which camera matches the valley
A levada is an irrigation channel with a path beside it. The useful check is the camera above the valley you are driving into.
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A levada is a narrow irrigation channel. The path beside it is often flat, which is why these walks are popular, and often wet, narrow, and shared. PR6 at Rabaçal is the crowded one. Ribeiro Frio and the Balcões viewpoint are the short forest walk people do when the high ridge is in cloud. The north-coast levadas sit in greener, wetter valleys than Funchal.
There is no single camera of a levada. Use the camera for the road you are about to drive. Rabaçal for the Paul da Serra plateau and PR6. Santana for the north-coast side, where the forest walks start lower and wetter. If the Pico do Arieiro camera is clear and you wanted a ridge, go up. If it is gray, a levada under the cloud is the better day.
Classified levada trails are booked on SIMplifica. The trails directory lists them. It does not show whether the channel path is running with water over the stones today.
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