Levada da Portela

Preliminary note

Historically, the Levada da Portela takes its water from the Levada do Furado. The Levada do Furado is a very old levada in its own right. It was already mentioned in 1830, and it takes its water from the Ribeiro Frio. At Lamaceiros it handed its water over, at the Caixa Divisoria (levada divider), to the Levada da Portela, for irrigating the areas around Porto de La Cruz and Maiata. From the beginning, the levada bed of the Levada do Furado was shared with the Levada do Juncal. Between 1840 and 1985 the levada bed of the Levada do Furado was also shared with the Levada dos Accionistas, and between 1905 and 1971 with the historic Levada da Serra do Faial, which no longer exists in its original form. At the Caixa Divisoria (water divider) in Lamaceiros the water was shared out according to the volumes of the individual levadas.

The whole development and the naming are a little confusing, so I have tried to bring some structure to it, and I have gathered on a page of their own the conclusions I could draw from the Elucidario Madeirense of 1921 (first edition) and of 1940 (second edition): Historic development of the Levada da Serra do Faial and the levadas around it

Madrei

The Levada do Furado divides at the water house above Lamaceiros into the Levada da Portela and the Levada da Serra do Faial, ca. 740 m a.s.l. This is not entirely accurate, though, because the stretch from the Caixa Divisora at Lamaceiros and Lombo da Raiz originally belonged to the Levada do Juncal. Historically, exactly the quantity of water taken in at the Madre of the Levada do Furado in the Ribeiro Frio was passed on to the Levada da Portela at Lamaceiros (see Historic development of the Levada da Serra do Faial and the levadas around it).

Course

The Levada da Portela used to run from the water house at the end of the Levada do Furado, more or less parallel to a gravel track, to the Posto Florestal in Lamaceiros. The levada is still visible here, but dry, because the water is now led into the storage lake built in 2012, which can be seen clearly on the right. From the Posto Florestal, remains of the levada can still be seen along the gravel track as far as Lamaceiros.

At Lamaceiros, water is fed in again from an underground pipe out of the storage lake. It flows first along the path, then a little below to the left, and later, as far as the ER-102, along the footpath again. A small side levada branches off.

Then east to the ER-102, and here the classic start with an information board. Reservoir on the ER-102; from here underground as far as the turn into the Caminho do Lameirao. The levada comes to the surface again in the road ditch and after about 160 metres turns left into the Estrada Florestal da Serra Das Funduras. Right here the Caminho Municipal Portela-Cruz Da Agra also turns off to the left. The levada runs along the gravel track, and after about 2 kilometres the main branch turns north along a small path. The levada drops steeply towards the north-west to a small catch basin, and here it is led into a buried pipe about 500 metres long, which comes back to the surface further down. A path leads there too, but at first not parallel to the pipe. The levada then continues in the open beside the steps. Part of it is branched off to the east to feed the Levada da Fajazinha and the Levada da Maiata. The rest flows into the fields above Maiata.

The side branch continues north-east on the Estrada Florestal da Serra Das Funduras to the point where the Caminho do Lombinho from Maiata de Cima meets the forestry track. There it disappears under the track and runs partly piped, partly in a natural stream bed, to the concrete basin at the Madre of the Levada do Poco do Arvoredo.

End

Cabeco da Lapa, Maiata ca. 580 m a.s.l.

Function and use

Irrigation of the fields around Maiata as far as Porto da Cruz

Access

• Lamaceiros, by various gravel tracks from the ER-102 and the ER-202

• Levada do Furado and the Levada da Serra do Faial

• The classic access at the Portela pass

• The Estrada Florestal da Serra Das Funduras. Paths reach it by

  • The Caminho Municipal Portela-Cruz Da Agra, from the road along which the terminal branch of the Levada do Castelejo runs

  • The Caminho da Degolada, which climbs from Larano

  • The continuation of the Caminho do Lombinho in Maiata

  • Gravel tracks from the Casa das Funduras and Machico

Condition

easy

Remarks

Together with the Levada do Furado, the classic among levada walks.