Everyone hikes Levada do Furado or watches sunrise from Pico do Arieiro and calls it a day, but Madeira's trail network runs to hundreds of kilometres across every difficulty level. Here's how the island's ten best hikes actually compare — length, difficulty, booking rules, and what you get for the effort — ranked easiest to hardest.
1. Vereda dos Balcões (PR11) — the easiest, from Ribeiro Frio
This is the trail to send anyone nervous about hiking in Madeira. From the Ribeiro Frio trailhead, PR11 follows the Levada da Serra do Faial for about 1.5km through dense laurel forest, gaining almost no altitude, before ending at a rock "balcony" with a wide, open view of the central peaks. Most people are back at the car park inside 90 minutes, including time at the viewpoint. It still needs a free SIMplifica time-slot booking like every other numbered PR trail.
2. Levada Nova, Arco da Calheta to Ponta do Sol — easy, uncrowded, coastal
A flat municipal levada walk through banana terraces on the sunny south-west coast, Levada Nova sees a fraction of the crowds at the interior's big-name trails. It isn't a classified PR route, so there's no SIMplifica booking required — just turn up, follow the water channel, and enjoy a genuinely quiet couple of hours with sea views instead of laurel forest.
3. Levada das 25 Fontes (PR6), Rabaçal — the classic
The walk every guidebook leads with, and it earns the spot: about 9km round trip from the Rabaçal Forestry House along a mostly flat levada path, ending at a mossy natural amphitheatre fed by dozens of small springs. Booking through SIMplifica costs around €3 per adult, and the water is cold enough that most people wade rather than swim.
4. Levada do Risco (PR6.1), Rabaçal — the quick add-on
Sharing its first stretch with 25 Fontes before splitting off, Risco reaches Madeira's tallest single-drop waterfall in under an hour each way. The catch is an unlit tunnel roughly 800 metres long — bring a head torch, because a phone flashlight alone makes for a nervous walk through it.
5. Vereda do Caldeirão Verde (PR9), Queimadas — the tunnel walk
Starting at Queimadas Forest Park near Santana, PR9 runs about 6.5km one-way (13km round trip) through four unlit volcanic tunnels to a green plunge pool beneath a 100-metre waterfall. It's graded easy-to-moderate on paper, but narrow, exposed sections above the ravine make it feel more serious than the distance suggests. Booking costs around €4.50 per person.
6. Levada do Furado (PR10), Ribeiro Frio to Portela — the long traverse
At roughly 11km one-way, PR10 is the longest trail on this list and the one that catches out hikers expecting another gentle levada stroll. It threads through laurel forest and several tunnels with genuinely exposed drop-offs on one side, taking most walkers 4 to 5 hours plus transport back from Portela. Confident footing matters more here than on any other trail below it.
7. Caldeirão do Inferno extension (PR9.1) — for the very fit
Tacked onto the end of Caldeirão Verde, this extra 45 minutes to an hour reaches a second, more remote waterfall that most day-trippers skip entirely. It's quieter for exactly that reason, but the path narrows further and is occasionally closed after landslides — check its SIMplifica status separately, and don't attempt it if you're already tired from the first 6.5km.
8. Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço (PR8) — no shade, no forest, all geology
The island's driest, starkest trail: an 8km round trip along a bare volcanic ridge with the ocean on both sides and zero shade for the entire route. It's rated easy-to-moderate for fitness, but the exposure to sun and wind makes it feel harder than the distance implies. Booking costs around €4.50 per adult, and the final stretch to Ponta do Furado has been closed for years due to rockfall risk.
9. Levada do Norte, Cabo Girão section — moderate, and closest to the sea
This stretch of the Levada do Norte traces the clifftop above Cabo Girão and down toward Fajã dos Padres, mixing forest path with genuine sea views most interior levadas never offer. It isn't part of the SIMplifica PR system, so there's no booking to arrange. It also happens to finish near the one cove on this list you can reach by water — Fajã dos Padres is a regular stop on a private boat trip with Chifbay, so a morning hike down and an afternoon swim off the boat is an easy pairing if you've got a rental car to shuttle between the two.
10. PR1, Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo — the hardest
The famous ridge walk between Madeira's third- and first-highest peaks is roughly 7km one-way with about 500 metres of combined ascent and descent, crossing several unlit volcanic tunnels and narrow sections with sheer drops either side. Since reopening in 2026 after wildfire damage, it now runs one-way only from Pico do Arieiro, booked through SIMplifica for €10.50 per person, with residents and under-12s hiking free after registering. It's not a trail to attempt in poor weather or with a fear of heights — but it delivers the single best mountain view on the island.
The coast gives you the Atlantic. The trails give you everything Madeira built to move its water down to it.
Whichever trail you pick, book your SIMplifica slot a few days ahead in peak season, pack a torch for the tunnels, and check the mountain forecast the same morning — it changes faster up there than it does down on the coast.