PR13 Vereda do Fanal

This is a very long hike if you dont have a ride waiting for you when you reach the ancient forest. It took is about 7 hours round trip, but we loved it! Side note: we are hikers so this was not difficult for us, the difficulty is in the distance of the hike.
The views are wonderful, especially once you reach the end point and see the ancient forest!!!
My husband found this hike a little boring. But overall we enjoyed our time.

Really good place to hike. PR13 route is beautiful. Not so long around 20km if you make a full round trip.

Great trail hike, I would say moderate difficulty for medium experienced hikers, hard for beginners. Nice views, not too technical or rocky terrain, not too much elevation change.. lots of cows near Fanal, several water points along the way. Did a 21km loop in Apr 2021.

🥾🌳Vereda do Fanal – PR 13 - This one is a whole day trip, but worth it for those who want to immerse themselves in nature. Vereda do Fanal trail is located close to the road ER209 and takes you through clouds, fog, and mystical flora. The Laurissilva part of the trail is included in the UNESCO list. The hike is 11 km one way so if your goal is only to see the mystical trees surrounded by fog then you are in luck – they are right next to the head (or end, depending on how you look at it) of the trail, next to a parking lot. Trail length – 22km both ways / Time – 7h.

You will definitely like this walk! It's well maintained, lots of steps, and handrails. Still You will have to go many meters up/down but it is well worth it. Great views almost all time.

We joined the trail somewhere on the middle where it crosses with the road - it is still about 5km trail one way. It was amazing and build this magical aura even before entering the Fanal Forest. I actually liked it more than forest itself. There are a few more difficult climbs however it is worth it!

Quite a special place, very different to the rest of Madeira. Definitely worth a visit if you’re staying around for longer, I would say it makes our top 15 hiking trips in Madeira.

Not the best veranda in Mairoca, but still very good with amazing vegetation

Very mystical hike if done in the fog

Hiked small part of it.
Nice trail.
very amazing.
I would say top 5 of the island.
Cow droppings everywhere. Stepped in one haha.

Great view

Definitely worth to go there. It's all sorts of trails there so if you're expert or just starter there is good place to go for hiking.

Great walk! Nice views and a great diversity of enviroment.

Be careful when taking this trek, it's quite difficult. Bring a lot of water and a good hat. Most of the trek is on the hills so you'll be exposed to sun a lot. You'll be greeted with many amazing views, clouds in the mountains and in the end with beautiful old trees. This was probably the harders trek I did on Madeira but also I wasn't well prepared. Had to hitchhike the way back to my car.

If you are looking for the laurel forest, it’s not the place or at least you will need to walk a long time. Just drive 20 min further and you will see a great spot to enjoy laurel

Fanal is a quiet and beautiful place... Here you can listen to the sound of silence - without a walkman - it's wonderful ! And here you can find wonderful trees. Some of them are 600 (!) years old. Unbelievable. But I got this information from the Madeira Island magazine.

Magical place. We were lucky — arrived at time with sun and clouds. And it was fantastic!!!

That fauna and flora, those very old trees,on top of the hill theres a view over the ocean S. VICENTE & PORTO MUNIZ, they are priceless

Cool Place, made a picnic with the family in the middle of the nature. Worth to spend a couple hours there.

Great trail. Very serene

Awesome greenery