Rabaçal 25 Fontes live camera
Cloud on the plateau, and whether the 25 Fontes walk is open
Getting there
Do not plan the drive on the ER 105 between Encumeada and Paúl da Serra. The regional roads notice, updated 2 October and still the file on Visit Madeira on 7 October 2026, lists that stretch, at Lombo do Mouro, as closed.
The Câmara Municipal da Calheta page for PR 6 says the same and sends a rental car the other way: VR1 toward Ribeira Brava, VE3 toward Ponta do Sol and Calheta, first exit at the Arco da Calheta roundabout onto the ER 222, then the signs from Loreto to Rabaçal. The start is on the right. That page does not give a driving time.
A taxi uses the regional meter. The second amendment to Convenção n.º 1/2019, in force on 6 February 2026, sets the flag at €4.00 by day and €4.80 at night for a 4-seat car. The flag covers the first kilometre. After that it is €0.10 every 65 m by day, or every 52 m from 21:00 to 06:00 and all day on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. That document does not publish a fixed price to Rabaçal. Waiting, luggage (€1.50) and an empty return are extra.
Parking and the van
Park on the ER 105. The council still calls it the old ER 110. The pages read on 7 October 2026 do not state a price or a number of spaces.
The council runs a van from that parking down a paved road of 2 km to the Casa Florestal do Rabaçal. Their transport page says every day from 10:00 to 18:00, €5 one way or €8 return. The driver number on that page is +351 966 426 851.
Those pages do not say that private cars are banned on the 2 km, and they do not give a time for walking it.
Bus
No public timetable read on 7 October 2026 puts a bus at Rabaçal or on the Paúl da Serra plateau.
The SIGA list names Calheta, Paul do Mar, and Ribeira Brava to Serra de Água. Paul do Mar is a coastal village, not this plateau. Serra de Água is not the trailhead. The timetable tool on SIGA says it is still being built, so no clocks are copied here.
Horários do Funchal’s career list does not name Rabaçal. Rodoeste’s published west-coast sheets name Paul do Mar, not Rabaçal.
PR 6 and PR 6.1
The IFCN list, updated 2 October 2026, marks PR 6 Levada das 25 Fontes as open: 4.3 km, plus 4.3 km back, from Rabaçal to 25 Fontes. The status line says one way: out on Levada das 25 Fontes, back on the Bypass.
Visit Madeira’s trail card gives the same 4.3 km, calls the difficulty Médio, and gives 3h00 for the round trip of 8.6 km, starting at Rabaçal (ER 105). The same card also says that during this period the one-way section runs both ways, and that you return the same way. Those lines do not match the IFCN list. The IFCN list is the status. Read both before you book.
The Calheta council card gives 9 km, written as 2 x 4.5 km, 3h30 to 4h, and easy, and says return the same way. That is a third figure. It is not the IFCN list.
PR 6.1 Levada do Risco is open on the IFCN list: 3 km, plus 3 km back, from Rabaçal to Risco. Visit Madeira’s card says 1.5 km (3 km round trip), easy, and 2h, from the same ER 105 start. The distances do not match. Use the IFCN list for whether it is open, and read both cards again if they still disagree.
Visit Madeira says you pay through SIMplifica. The IFCN fee FAQ, updated 2 June 2026, sets an individual classified trail other than PR1 at €4.50 in 2026. That is the figure for PR 6 on its own, and again for PR 6.1 on its own. Two or more of these trails in one day, not including PR1, have a day rate of €9.00, and SIMplifica applies the cheaper of the two. Residents of the Region do not pay, children aged 12 or under do not pay, and a person with an incapacity of 60% or more, plus one accompanying legal tutor, does not pay. The FAQ says they still book. Booking is only on SIMplifica, not at the forest house.
PR 6.2 and PR 6.3
PR 6.2 Levada do Alecrim is open on the IFCN list: 3.5 km, plus 3.5 km back, from Rabaçal to the levada spring. Visit Madeira matches that distance, calls it easy, and gives 2h30 for the 7 km round trip, from the ER 105.
PR 6.3 Vereda da Lagoa do Vento is open: 1.8 km, plus 1.8 km back. Visit Madeira gives 1h30, easy, starting about 200 m from the Casa de Abrigo do Rabaçal, 3.6 km round trip. The same card prints an altitude of 1,600 m / 200 m. That line does not fit the rest of the card, so it is left out of the plan.
The same €4.50 applies to each of these on its own. Each one is its own booking on SIMplifica.
What the picture is for
The still on this page is NetMadeira’s camera on the Paúl da Serra plateau. Their page says it looks over the start of the walks, including Levada das 25 Fontes and Levada do Risco.. The live picture is their YouTube stream, Portal Netmadeira.
If the plateau in the still is grey, that ground is in cloud. Look before you drive up. The picture is not a forecast, it is not an IFCN closure, and it does not show whether the van is running.
Sources, read 7 October 2026
Who runs the camera
- Rabaçal 25 FontesImage by NetMadeira
Open, but one-way. Walk out on the levada to 25 Fontes, and come back on the marked bypass to Casa do Rabaçal.
Official Trail Status (Rabaçal & 25 Fontes)
Open, but one-way. Walk out on the levada to 25 Fontes, and come back on the marked bypass to Casa do Rabaçal.
Official tableWalking is strictly one-way to prevent congestion: follow Levada das 25 Fontes out to the waterfall, and return to Casa do Rabaçal via the alternative marked bypass trail.
An open notice is not a weather forecast. Fog and wind change quickly up here. Look at the camera before you drive.
Official Gazette SourceMountain Fog Risk
Paúl da Serra / Rabaçal (1200m)
Mist & low clouds around 1,200m plateau
Numbers are for the high plateau, around 1,200 m. Fog in the valley can differ. Look at the camera.
- The view
- NetMadeira camera on the Paúl da Serra plateau. Their page says it looks over the start of the walks, including 25 Fontes and Risco.
- Useful for
- See if that ground is in cloud before you drive up.
- It will not show
- A grey plateau is cloud on that ground. It is not a forecast and not an IFCN closure.
- It does not show whether the van is running, and it is not a view of a car-park queue.
- The camera
- Image by NetMadeira
- Getting there
- Park on the ER 105 (old ER 110). The Encumeada to Paúl da Serra stretch is closed. Calheta van: €5 one way or €8 return, 10:00 to 18:00. No public bus reaches Rabaçal.
When to go
- Elevation
- 1064
- Coordinates
- 32.7667, -17.1333
- Region
- Rabaçal
- Camera
- Live picture
The view
What the picture actually shows
If the plateau in the still is grey, that ground is in cloud. Look before you drive up. The picture is not a forecast and it is not an IFCN closure.
What the picture actually shows
- •Whether the plateau in the still is in cloud before you drive up.
- •A grey frame is that ground in cloud, not a forecast.
- •The picture does not show whether the van is running.
- •An open IFCN notice is not the same thing as a clear plateau.
Highlights
- ✓The Paúl da Serra plateau, where NetMadeira places this camera.
- ✓The start of the walks, as their page describes the view.
- ✓Cloud on that ground, or a gap.
- ✓Not a car-park queue, and not a van timetable.
Rabaçal Trail Conditions
Rabaçal valley
- Laurel forest around the forestry house, under the Paúl da Serra plateau
- The picture is the valley, not the ER110 car park
- Fog often drops in after midday. Mornings are the steadier window
- PR6 is one-way when the rule is on: out on the levada, back on the bypass
Landscape & geography
Location Details
Risco (PR6.1) is the shorter neighbour, about 3 km each way, and ends at a tall fall on a dark rock wall. Same start, same muddy shoes.
You are walking on a working water channel. These levadas were cut by hand from the 1830s to send water toward Calheta, and they still do that job. The path is the channel wall. It feels almost flat once you are on it, and it is slick when the moss is wet, which is most afternoons.
The forest is Laurissilva, on the UNESCO list since 1999. It stays green because the plateau above catches a lot of rain and cloud, then spills it into this valley. Mornings are the steadier window. After lunch the ridge often fills in, the stone steps get slippery, and a thin plastic poncho snags on the brambles and splits. Phone signal drops once you are below the road. If someone twists an ankle, help is slow. Start back while you can still see the path.
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Visitor logistics
Parking, shuttle, fee
Their van runs from that parking down 2 km of paved road to the Casa Florestal do Rabaçal, every day from 10:00 to 18:00, €5 one way or €8 return. Those pages do not say private cars are banned on the 2 km, and they do not give a walking time. No public timetable puts a bus at Rabaçal.
- Fee: One classified trail other than PR1 is €4.50 in 2026, booked on SIMplifica. Residents, children aged 12 or under, and a person with an incapacity of 60% or more plus one tutor do not pay, and they still book.
- Picture: Grey ground on the plateau is cloud. The still does not show whether the van is running.