Levada do Bom Sucesso

Madrei

Ribeira de Joao Gomes N 32°40.250 W 16°53.750 ca. 280 m a.s.l.

Course

Valley of the Ribeira Joao Gomes: first the ruined old Madre; the first metres were rebuilt in 2013 during the repair of the stream bed; a levada bridge over the Ribeira de S. Martinho, where a pipe from the stream bed feeds the levada; then partly exposed, partly protected, and later easier as far as Bom Sucesso

End

Bom Sucesso ca. 200 m a.s.l.

Function and use

Water supply for the Bom Sucesso district of Funchal

Access

• Path from Romeiros to the upper station of the cable car from the Botanical Garden to Monte; signposted!

• From below, via Bom Sucesso

Condition

As of 2011: partly destroyed, slippery and relatively dangerous

As of 2012: the bridge and the destroyed path largely restored

As of 2013: the descent from Monte is steep but straightforward to walk (steps); the upper waterfall (signpost on a rock) does not exist in summer; the old Madre is destroyed, but well worth a visit. From about 100 m below the Madre to 50 metres before the bridge the levada was rebuilt (in connection with the obelisk-like stream-bed works).

Before the levada bridge a pipe comes in from a side stream, which in winter could feed the levada as well. As with the Levada do Bom Sucesso, this stream may once have linked the two levadas and explain the shared name.

How the levada's water supply has been redesigned, the near future will show. From the stone bridge to Bom Sucesso the condition is good, but there are drops beside the protection that should not be underestimated!

At the end a little water in the levada, fed by a water pipe

Remarks

An old urban levada that had in effect been taken out of use, but after all the rebuilding it may be coming back to life; the detour to the waterfall is only worth making in winter