7 May 2019 Circular walk on two levadas around Machico

Course

From the centre of Machico, near the Capela das Milagres, towards the fort on the Rua da Leira, and up the steps to the Rua do Desembarcadouro, or do Pescador. A farmer advised us against the Caminho do Pescador, which would have led straight up from here to the Levada do Desembarcadouro; from below it looked quite overgrown. We then took the Vereda da Trincheira B and came out exactly on the levada.

From here, in the direction of the flow, first on a concrete path, then as a meadow path, as far as the water runs out. The levada continues beyond that: first well preserved and a little exposed around a nose of rock, then increasingly ruined through fields that are only sparsely used, and at the end a barely visible trodden path with the occasional relic of the old levada. You finally reach the climb from the fort to the Pico do Facho, which is overgrown as well. The levada remains end here. You can go right out to the cliff and so look across to Sao Lourenco and Canical.

Back the same way and on to the junction with the Rua do Desembarcadouro, or do Pescador. Always along the mostly open levada, through rows of houses, across road junctions and occasionally past fields. Unfortunately the area of Paraiso and Poco do Gil has a rubbish problem, and in places it looks rather unpleasant. On to the portal of the VR 1 motorway tunnel towards Canical. Here the levada is carried over the portals in a pipe, as a kind of siphon. You come to the church in Ribeira Seca, with colourful graffiti on the walls; here the levada is led through the retaining wall of the church.

A further stretch runs covered in the road ditch. Before the Ribeira Seca there is an open piece of levada as far as the river, over a bridge, and then the levada comes out of the side valley of the Ribeira Noia, which has an intermediate intake here.

The next stretch does not exist. After about 100 metres you can climb the very steep Caminho do Amparo and meet the levada again. After a short piece in the direction of the flow it ends in a stream. Continuing the other way, through houses, you swing into the valley of the Ribeira do Machico. From the end of the road a rather pretty section follows, with a view to the other side of the valley. The levada ends abruptly here. The water is brought by a stream that is presumably fed by the Levada do Canical.

The missing piece can be bypassed either on the road on the other side of the river or by a small path with a levada. Later you come upon remains of the old Levada do Desembarcadouro. At the first houses you see the end of the first section, which again pours into a stream. For a short stretch it can be followed once more, until it disappears behind houses and the way to the Madre becomes relatively hard to reach. The Madre can, though, be seen well from the other side of the river.

On the other side of the river we headed back down the valley, past the basalt columns behind the motorway bridge. Under the bridge you see the old Madre of the Levada das Figueiras. The water is led along the concreted stream bed up to the level of the road and crosses under the Estrada dos Marocos.

At first the water flows in the road ditch, partly covered, until it is suddenly diverted back into the river bed.

Further down the valley the new Madre of the Levada das Figueiras can be seen from the road. Here too the water is led under the road and then flows in a newly built levada bed beside the road. As soon as the road drops a little more steeply, the levada is carried on in the road wall and you come out onto fields above the road. It soon becomes quite exposed. The passage in the rock, which used to be inaccessible, has been freshly concreted and can now be walked with due care. It continues, quite exposed, to the tunnel portal of the VR 1. Here too, as earlier on the Levada do Desembarcadouro, the passage is bridged by a pipe. One could follow the pipe with a few climbing moves, but we left the levada here on a steep path to the Caminho da Quinta de Sant'Ana. On that path, northwest, to the inconspicuous entrance of the Furnas de Cavalum, the relatively little-known lava caves.

Very impressive, but you need quite a strong lamp to light the whole extent of the cave.

Back to the Levada das Figueiras and on through somewhat better-kept rows of houses, under the motorway bridge and across fields to the abrupt end in a grilled outlet. After that nothing more of the levada is to be seen.

Descent into the centre of Machico, past the old aqueduct, and back to the start.

Distance: 17.5 km, 390 m of ascent, 390 m of descent

Start: 09.30 Machico

End

16.00 Machico

Condition

An easy walk, though in this form still relatively long. Only the ruined sections of the Levada do Desembarcadouro above the fort need sure footing, and the exposed spot on the Levada das Figueiras also demands absolutely a head for heights.

Remarks

If you do not get worked up about the rubbish lying about everywhere, this walk is interesting, varied and full of contrasts.

Thanks: thank you to Issi for the company and for reliably collecting the rubbish along the way.