Every year at the end of October, the crater village of Curral das Freiras fills with the smell of roasting chestnuts and the sound of a parade winding through its narrow streets. Here's when the 2026 Festa da Castanha happens, what actually goes on, and how to get up there from Funchal.
When is the Festa da Castanha in 2026?
The Festa da Castanha runs from Saturday 31 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 in Curral das Freiras, in the Câmara de Lobos municipality. It's the valley's 38th edition, timed each year to land right at the end of the local chestnut harvest, when the trees on the surrounding slopes have just finished dropping their crop. As with most village festivals in Madeira, exact stall hours and the parade's start time are usually only confirmed a few weeks out, so it's worth checking the Câmara de Lobos municipal agenda or Madeira's cultural calendar closer to the date.
What actually happens at the festival?
The centrepiece is the Cortejo Alegórico, an allegorical parade with more than 350 costumed participants and decorated floats that process through the village celebrating the harvest. Around it, the streets and the main recinto fill with dozens of stalls run by local chestnut and walnut producers, selling their crop alongside dishes made from it, plus folklore performances and live music through the weekend. It's a village festival rather than a staged tourist event — the crowd is mostly Madeirans who make the trip up from the coast specifically for this weekend, which is part of what makes it worth doing once.
What can you eat and drink there?
Roasted chestnuts sold hot straight from the pan are the obvious starting point, but the stalls go well beyond that: licor de castanha (a sweet chestnut liqueur), bolo de castanha (dense chestnut cake), chestnut soup, honey, walnuts and other valley produce all turn up across the weekend. Poncha is around too, as it is at nearly every outdoor gathering on the island. Prices are set stall by stall rather than centrally, and everything is cooked and sold in small batches, so the food is fresher the earlier in the day you arrive.
Is the festival free to attend?
Yes — entry to the festival grounds is free, and you only pay for what you buy once you're inside: food, drinks and parking where it applies. That's typical of Madeira's village festivals, which are funded and run by the local council and community rather than ticketed as a commercial event.
Where is Curral das Freiras, and how do you get there?
Curral das Freiras sits inland, in a volcanic crater valley ringed by some of Madeira's highest peaks, about 20–25 minutes' drive from Funchal via the ER107, which cuts through a mountain tunnel to reach the village. There's no coastal or boat route to it — this is the one part of the island you genuinely need a car (or a taxi/tour minibus) to reach. Most visitors combine the drive with a stop at the Eira do Serrado viewpoint just before the tunnel, which gives the classic aerial view down into the valley before you descend into it.
Is it worth pairing with a boat trip that day?
It can work well as a two-part day, since the coast and the crater valley are such a contrast. A morning Day Trip along the south coast — Câmara de Lobos, Cabo Girão, a swim at Fajã dos Padres — wraps up by early afternoon, leaving enough daylight to drive up to Curral das Freiras and catch the festival before evening. Just budget for the drive: it's a different road entirely from the marina, and traffic into the valley gets heavier as the day goes on during festival weekend.
The coast gives you the sea. The Festa da Castanha gives you the one weekend a year Curral das Freiras stops being quiet.
It's a small, local festival rather than a headline event, and that's exactly the appeal — roasted chestnuts, a parade nobody outside Madeira has heard of, and a valley that spends the rest of the year in silence.