21 June 2016 Levada da Negra and Barreiro

Course

From Barreira along the Levada da Negra as far as the panorama road, on this as far as the junction with the Levada do Barreiro, descent on this as far as the junction with the gravel track of the Parque Ecologico, descent on the path to the access of the Aguas dos Tornos, descent to the Levada dos Tornos and over the newly renovated bridge across the Ribeira do Pisao to Corujeira

Distance: 16.4 Km, 836 m ascent, 1049 m descent

Start: 10.15 Corujeira

End

18.30 Barreira

Condition

Ascent on a path that has slipped in places, sometimes overgrown, but no problem to walk

Descent as far as the bed of the side branch of the Ribeira de Santa Luzia easy at first, then increasingly unclear and finally very hard and pathless

From the stream bed as far as the descent to the Escadinhas, overgrown, partly in prickly gorse; the levada is partly still there, piped, quite demanding

From the descent to the Escadinhas as far as the gravel track, on a path that is mostly there but not always easy to walk, partly slipped, partly boggy

Descent to the Tornos springs steep and somewhat exposed; finding the start is not entirely easy

Descent from the Tornos springs to Corujeira easy

Remarks

A route that, if you know the bus timetables, can also be done by public transport. Wonderful views over the valleys of the Ribeira do Santo Antonio and de Santa Luzia