Tunel Vieira de Castro

Function and use

If you look at the elevation of the tunnel and at possible water intakes, the Madre of this levada would have had to lie somewhere in the Ribeira da Janela, between the area of the crossing of the Levada da Rocha Vermelha and the 25 Springs levada. That is a considerable stretch on the south side of the Ribeira da Janela.

The shortest possible tunnel length through to the south side is about 1.7 km, and it ends in the upper part of the Ribeira da Achade, between the Lombo da Estrela and the Lombo dos Castanheiros. 200 m lower, the Levada Nova flows today, so it is quite possible that this valley was the aim of the tunnel drive. All the other destinations at 850 m elevation on the south side lie a long way from the tunnel portal.

Access

Descent from the Levada do Furado Velho on a path with the vegetation cut back.

Condition

The entrance is in perfect condition; the entrance area even seemed to me higher and wider than the Furado Velho. Further in, the tunnel became a little less high, but our torches did not reach that far.

The descent path is in places completely straightforward; a few spots, though, had slipped a little, and there you had to use your hands as well.

Remarks

The descent from the tunnel portal down to the Ribeira da Janela would certainly be interesting. It has been done a few times already, but we found no sensible place to start, and further down there are also a few rock faces....