Levada da Fonte Perigosa

Madrei

Fonte Perigosa N 32°41.911 W 16°51.876 ca. 908 m a.s.l.

Course

At Fonte Perigosa, 3 springs are tapped, and some of them are relatively hard to reach. The uppermost spring has to be reached by steps cut into slippery rock. An elaborate system of small levadinhas leads the water into various basins and from there either straight onto the fields or into the levada.

The water is taken under the access bridge to the springs in a pipe, and then continues in the open on the other side of the road. First a small bridge over a stream is crossed. Along fields, with a view of the terraced fields on the other side of the valley below the Levada do Pico do Arvoredo, it goes into cuttings and over ridges. In two places, uneven ground has been bridged with pipes.

Around a few houses the upper part of the levada continues a little further, over a bridge, and then ends in the gardens.

The lower part follows a few stairways a little lower down and runs out on a ridge (Lombo das Fontes) into Ribeiro Serrao.

End

Ribeiro do Serrao ca. 810 m a.s.l.

Function and use

Local irrigation around Ribeiro Serrao

Access

• Ponte de Pau, Caminho Ponte de Pau, and then via the steep Caminho Jose Arnaldo Vieira to the Madre with the bridge

• Various stairways up in Robeiro Serrao, for example at the bus stop 'Antes da Ponte Pau'

• Access over a bridge onto the Lombo das Fontes

Condition

The levada itself is easy to walk. The Fonte Perigosa area, though, is narrow, wet, slippery and exposed in places, especially the approach to the uppermost spring (Fonte 1).

Remarks

In the Fonte Perigosa area there is a clock, though it is no longer in use. Probably a clock for checking the irrigation times.