Events in Madeira in October 2026: Apple Festival, Nature Festival and Chestnuts
What’s on in Madeira in October 2026 — from the Apple Festival in Camacha and the Madeira Nature Festival to outdoor sport, culture, music and the Chestnut Festival in Curral das Freiras. Key dates and links.
Andy Meyer·
Looking for events in Madeira in October 2026?
October brings autumn to the island without quite saying goodbye to summer. Villages harvest and celebrate, outdoors you’ll find the Nature Festival, trails and canyoning, and by month’s end Curral das Freiras smells of roasting chestnuts. Here’s a curated overview — with links to dates, places and details in Madeira Unlocked.
What to expect in October
Three threads run through the month:
- Harvest and village festas — the Apple Festival in Camacha, the Feira do Mar in Caniçal and later the Chestnut Festival in Curral das Freiras
- Nature and outdoors — the Madeira Nature Festival, ECHOO, Wanderlust, Ecotrail Funchal and the Canyoning Madeira Meeting
- Culture, motorsport and music — from the Madeira Eco Rally and Rally Madeira Legend to the Madeira International Mandolin Festival, Festival Avesso and EcoMusicalis
Programmes are often only finalised close to the date. Always check the event page before you go.
At a glance
- 2–4 Oct — Madeira Eco Rally (opening in Funchal)
- 2–4 Oct — 39th Apple Festival, Camacha (Largo da Achada)
- until 3 Oct — TransMadeira (autumn edition)
- 6–11 Oct — Madeira Nature Festival
- 9–11 Oct — Sea and Fisherman Fair in Caniçal
- 10 Oct — Wanderlust Madeira at Parque de Santa Catarina
- 10 Oct — 100 Miles – Historic Rally (Machico / Santa Cruz)
- 10–11 Oct — ECHOO Nature Fest at Chão das Feiteiras
- 14–25 Oct — Festival Avesso in Ponta do Sol
- 17–18 Oct — Ecotrail Funchal
- 18–23 Oct — Canyoning Madeira Meeting (Seixal / São Vicente)
- 22–24 Oct — Rally Madeira Legend (Rally Village, Praça CR7)
- 23–25 Oct — Madeira International Mandolin Festival (plus 14 Nov)
- 31 Oct — EcoMusicalis Lauraceae in Achadas da Cruz
- 31 Oct – 1 Nov — Chestnut Festival in Curral das Freiras
- Expressa-te Arts Festival — cancelled / postponed
Early October: apples, EVs and enduro
39th Apple Festival — Camacha (2–4 October)
Poster: 39th Festa da Maçã in Camacha.
Up on the plateau where the wicker baskets come from, Camacha celebrates the apple harvest. Stalls offer local apples and apple products, sweets, cider and savoury specialities, plus live music, folklore, crafts — and as the highlight a traditional parade with costumes and scenes from village life.
Venue: Largo da Achada, Camacha. Organised by Junta de Freguesia da Camacha.
If you already caught the Festa do Pêro in Ponta do Pargo in September: this is Camacha’s big apple festa further east — different parish, same harvest feel.
Madeira Eco Rally (2–4 October)
In parallel, the Madeira Eco Rally gets underway: a road rally for 100% electric cars only, part of Portugal’s New Energies Championship, the Iberian ECO Challenge and the FIA Eco Rally Cup. It opens in Funchal; over the weekend the route continues across several parts of the island, including towards Porto Moniz, Santo da Serra and Machico.
Programme details: Eco Rally Madeira 2026.
TransMadeira — autumn edition (until 3 October)
The autumn edition of TransMadeira still runs into early October, until 3 October. This multi-day enduro mountain-bike race crosses Madeira with well over 200 kilometres of trails. For most visitors it’s an international sporting event rather than a classic spectator festa — worth following if you’re into the scene, but not a typical village day out.
First half of October: Nature Festival, sea and wellness
Madeira Nature Festival (6–11 October)
Poster: Madeira Nature Festival 2026.
A week of guided outdoor activities across the island: levadas, canyoning, mountain biking, wellness and cultural experiences — from the coast into the Laurissilva. There is no all-festival pass; you sign up for individual activities once the programme is out.
Start here: Madeira Nature Festival. Official programme and booking also on Visit Madeira. Popular slots go quickly — booking early helps.
Sea and Fisherman Fair — Caniçal (9–11 October)
Poster: Feira do Mar e do Pescador.
Caniçal lives by the sea, and the Casa do Povo fair stays close to that. Expect stalls, fish and seafood, and a programme that celebrates the parish’s maritime identity — a local festa, not a mega-show, and worth the trip for exactly that reason.
Wanderlust Madeira — Parque de Santa Catarina (10 October)
Poster: Wanderlust Madeira.
A day of movement, mindfulness, music and community in the middle of Funchal: yoga, Pilates, meditation, workshops and talks. Bring a mat. 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, tickets currently around €10.74, registration required.
Details: Wanderlust Madeira 2026. Organised by Wanderlust Portugal.
100 Miles – Historic Rally — Machico and Santa Cruz (10 October)
Poster: 100 Miles – Historic Rally.
The same Saturday hosts the 100 Miles – Historic Rally: a historic regularity rally for classic cars, where the challenge is not top speed but holding set average times as closely as possible. Organised by Clube de Automóveis Clássicos da Madeira. The route covers about 160 kilometres through Machico and Santa Cruz — from the mountains down to the sea.
ECHOO Nature Fest — Chão das Feiteiras (10–11 October)
Third edition in Machico: reforestation, talks, workshops, food court, acoustic concerts, silent party, open-air cinema and bat watching. Free entry. Saturday includes Valter Lobo and Francisco Lopes; Sunday includes André Santos.
Wanderlust in Funchal and ECHOO in the hills fall on the same weekend — if you want both, you can split Saturday or keep Sunday for ECHOO.
Expressa-te Arts Festival — postponed
Expressa-te was still on earlier picks. The planned edition was cancelled or postponed after a fire and damage from firefighting — we’ll announce the new date in Madeira Unlocked once it’s confirmed. For culture this month, Festival Avesso and the Mandolin Festival are strong alternatives.
Mid-October: trail, canyoning, theatre and rally
Festival Avesso — Ponta do Sol (14–25 October)
Poster: Festival Avesso.
Between outdoor and motorsport weeks, Festival Avesso offers a cultural counterpoint: theatre and performing arts at Centro Cultural John dos Passos in Ponta do Sol. This year’s edition spans several festival evenings with a mix of regional and international productions.
Dates and shows: Festival Avesso. Organised by Associação Avesso.
Ecotrail Funchal (17–18 October)
Poster: Ecotrail Funchal.
Trail running from the capital’s hills down into the centre. The main distances start on 17 October; 18 October brings the kids’ races and prize-giving. Enter at ecotrailmadeira.com — places are limited.
Canyoning Madeira Meeting — Seixal / São Vicente (18–23 October)
Poster: Canyoning Madeira Meeting.
Six days of international canyoning based at Clube Naval do Seixal. Expect tours through ravines and waterfalls — especially on the north coast — technical workshops and a social programme with themed evenings.
Details and dates: Canyoning Madeira Meeting 2026.
Rally Madeira Legend — Funchal and mountain roads (22–24 October)
Poster: Rally Madeira Legend.
The sixth edition brings historic rally cars back onto Madeira’s mountain roads — in the Legend Históricas, Spirit, Open and Show categories (Show as a demonstration without racing the clock). It starts with the Rally Village on Praça CR7 in Funchal, then two competition days with special stages, nighttime runs and an urban slalom to finish. Spectating is free.
Series: Rally Madeira Legend 2026. Organised by Club Sports da Madeira.
Late October: mandolin, open air and chestnuts
Madeira International Mandolin Festival — Teatro Baltazar Dias (23–25 October)
Poster: 11th Madeira International Mandolin Festival.
Madeira has a long mandolin tradition — from orchestras and parish groups to tunas, the classic student and folk ensembles built around plucked strings. Once a year they share Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias with players from abroad. The 11th edition runs 23–25 October; tickets are currently around €16. An extra concert follows on 14 November at Museu Henrique e Francisco Franco.
Madeira International Mandolin Festival
Rally Madeira Legend and the Mandolin Festival overlap on the 23–25 October weekend. If you like both, follow the cars by day and head to the theatre in the evening.
EcoMusicalis Lauraceae — Achadas da Cruz (31 October)
Open air on the northwest coast: EcoMusicalis Lauraceae names each concert after a Laurissilva tree. This time it’s the Barbusano Concert in Achadas da Cruz (Calhau) — live music with an Atlantic view. Organised by Associação Retoiça.
Chestnut Festival — Curral das Freiras (31 October and 1 November)
Poster: Festa da Castanha.
From Funchal a winding road drops into the mountain bowl. Up in the village the air smells of roasting chestnuts.
Curral das Freiras — Nuns’ Valley — sits cooler than the coast and feels properly autumnal after the wine harvest. Since 1983 the Casa do Povo has turned All Saints into a festa: growers’ stalls, folklore, roasted and boiled chestnuts, cakes, liqueurs and savoury dishes. The highlight is the allegorical parade, often with hundreds of participants and floats.
Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. The road is narrow and busy that weekend — leaving early helps. Give it time if you can: the Chestnut Festival is a good reason to experience Curral das Freiras as more than a quick stop at the viewpoint.
The same Saturday, EcoMusicalis is on the northwest coast and the festa opens in Curral das Freiras — geographically far apart. Pick one direction, or save Sunday for the chestnuts.
How to find events during your stay
Dates change, and smaller arraiais are often announced late.
In Madeira Unlocked you can:
- see events updated daily
- filter by town (Funchal, Santa Cruz, Machico, Câmara de Lobos, Porto Moniz…)
- open maps, times and ticket links in one place
Browse everything on the events page.
For the wider autumn arc from September to November, see the autumn guide.
How to plan October
A few sensible mixes:
- Harvest: Apple Festival in Camacha and Chestnut Festival in Curral das Freiras
- Outdoors: Nature Festival or ECHOO, plus Ecotrail or the Canyoning Meeting if you want
- Town and culture: Wanderlust, Festival Avesso and/or the Madeira International Mandolin Festival
- Motorsport to watch: Madeira Eco Rally or Rally Madeira Legend (the latter free)
If you only have one weekend, 9–11 October is especially packed: Nature Festival, Feira do Mar, Wanderlust, 100 Miles and ECHOO. At month’s end, 31 October and 1 November are worth it for the Chestnut Festival — and if you want music by the water, check EcoMusicalis first.
Final thoughts
In October Madeira is still mild, but the calendar clearly turns to harvest, hills and autumn festas. You don’t need to see everything. Pick a few dates that suit you — a village festa, a day outdoors, an evening of music or theatre — and check current times and programmes in Madeira Unlocked.