Laurisilva of Madeira

Millions of years ago, forests of evergreen laurel-type trees covered much of southern Europe; the ice ages and a drying climate wiped them out on the continent, and they survived only on a few Atlantic islands. Madeira holds the largest remaining stand. Around 15,000 hectares of laurisilva still clothe the island, mostly on the steep, wet northern slopes, and roughly nine-tenths of it is primary forest, with trees up to 800 years old that were growing before Portuguese settlers arrived after 1420. Fossil records show laurel forest has grown on the island for at least 1.8 million years. UNESCO inscribed it as a natural World Heritage Site in 1999.

What makes this forest feel otherworldly is water. Prevailing north-easterly winds push clouds against the mountains, and the forest lives in frequent fog between about 300 and 1,300 m on the north side. Trunks and branches are hung with mosses, lichens and ferns; the canopy is dominated by trees of the laurel family, such as Laurus novocanariensis, Ocotea foetens and Persea indica, along with Clethra arborea. Beneath them grow giant Madeiran cranesbill, endemic orchids and dense ferns. The island has around 66 plant species found nowhere else, and much of that endemism is concentrated in these woods.

The forest is also home to the Trocaz pigeon, a laurel-forest specialist found only on Madeira, as well as the Madeira firecrest and the Madeira chaffinch. The forest's survival is partly a story of protection: after centuries of logging, charcoal burning and grazing, Madeira Natural Park was created in 1982, and goats and sheep were removed from the forest from the 1980s, allowing the understorey to recover.

The best way in is along the levadas — narrow irrigation channels cut along the contours of the mountains from the sixteenth century onwards to carry water from the wet north to the farms of the south. Their maintenance paths make near-level walking routes deep into the forest. The classic example is the Levada do Caldeirão Verde (PR 9), which starts at the Queimadas forest park in the municipality of Santana and runs 8.7 km one way, through four rock-cut tunnels, to a waterfall dropping into a green pool; allow around six and a half hours for the round trip. Paths are often wet and exposed, so good footwear, a torch for the tunnels and a check of trail conditions are essential.

Getting there

The laurisilva covers the island's mountainous interior; the town of Câmara de Lobos, just west of Funchal, is about 13 km from the centre of the protected area. Madeira's international airport, Cristiano Ronaldo International (FNC), is about 22 km away on the south-east coast. Most walkers reach trailheads such as Queimadas by car or on organised walking transfers; mountain roads are narrow and winding, and fog can close in quickly.