Levada do Seixal

Madrei

Ribeira do Vimieiro N 32°47.300 W 17°06.600 ca. 880 m a.s.l., and further side streams on the way to the tunnels

Course

At the Madre (Geocache Alpinista) several feeder levadas can be seen, but they all end after a few metres. First you pass the descent path to Chao da Ribeira, then the ascent path to the Levada do Norte begins: a wet passage under dripping plants and the spraying waterfalls of the Ribeira do Folhado (Geocache), then a very exposed course along and above the Ribeira da Hortela as far as the waterfall, which is cut off halfway and led into the gallery window of the first tunnel. After that comes the crossing of the Ribeira do Seixal, the start of the Relvinhas ascent, and the entrance to the long, wet Seixal tunnel (2.2 km). At the entrance the descent path (Vereda das Feitas) to Chao da Ribeira begins. After the tunnel there is a short passage with the inflow from the intake on the Ribeira dos Cedros and the Ribeira da Agua Negra ou do Risco, then the confluence with the Levada da Rocha Vermelha

End

Confluence with the Levada da Rocha Vermelha ca. 860 m a.s.l.

Function and use

Inflow to the Calheta I power station

Access

• Descent from the Levada do Norte, to this point

  • via the descent path from the Paul da Serra over the Lombo das Barbinhas to the levada house of the Levada do Norte

  • directly from the Levada do Norte

• Ascent from Chao da Ribeira to the middle section

• Descent from the ER-209, walked by the Amigos da Natureza 2014 and the Veredas & Levadas 2015

• Ascent from Chao da Ribeira to the tunnel entrance of the long Seixal tunnel

• Via the Levada da Rocha Vermelha to the long Seixal tunnel

Condition

From the Madre to the ascent path it is somewhat exposed and very wet, then come wet passages, then very exposed places with protection, suitable only for levada enthusiasts; a shorter tunnel from the Hortela waterfall

A laborious, long, wet tunnel

Remarks

Inside the Seixal tunnel further sources, in the form of waterfalls and showers, are tapped and led into the levada. The Seixal tunnel can practically not be walked through dry (except in a full-body wetsuit); an umbrella is advisable! The rest of the levada is also very wet from above and from below!

The Hortela waterfall is captured at levada height by a concrete structure and led into the levada tunnel through a separate opening