PR10 Levada do Furado - Ribeiro Frio - Portela

I went there from Funchal by bus 103 at 7.30am. We started a hike at 8.20am. We were in this super popular levada alone! It was perfect!! Hike itself is not really hard or demanding but it was perfect for us. We wanted a simple and relaxing walk and it was exactly that with really nice views on the way. It took us 3 hours to reach the end point. Highly recommend!

This is one of the easiest levada walks I have ever done. It is also my very favourite walks which ends at a fabulous viewpoint. There are other walks from here as well as lovely cafe grub and cold beers to round off the day.

YES YES YES , Please go here it’s so beautiful and really simple easy walk for all ages I even saw children , people with trolleys and even a guy on a wheelchair. Views were stunning
We only went to point number 6 I beleive

Nice walk - 11km one way. Accessible by public transport. Not too many parking spots. Did this walk as a return trek (since left the car in Ribeira frío). Trekking is mainly via the forest with almost zero views. There are a couple of semi tunnels (no roof) so no head torch is necessary (they are on about 8th km when going towards Portela). The walk is mainly flat. On the last 3km there is about 250m elevation loss (and then gain if you walk back 🙃). There are some sections with a bit of exposure (mainly forested) but there is always some railing in place. Some sections are very narrow (only 1 person can pass). A couple of very small waterfalls in December. In general a nice walk but might get a bit boring.

PR 10 is a point to point 11 km hike. ( it says 5h but if you walk in high tempo you can make it in 3/4h).
We have walked it back also because our car was parked at the start point, and we walked it for 6/7 hours total.
It can be very slippery and misty so please put on good shoes and bring a jacket. It also has very small paths at some points.
If you are afraid of hights you can walk this hike. Because i am very afraid and still did it!
And you can also feed the birdies :). Please only give them bird seeds.

Easy walking through incredible landscape, jaw dropping views following the levada
Bus service from funchal works but not a regular service. Make sure you are on time to get morning service to starting point. Bus sam 56

Levada dos Balcoes is probably one of the easiest Levada Tours in Madeira, but it's also one of the most beautiful. 1.5 km trip from the bus station. I can say it loud, the bus was harder than the walk as it rides those steep and narrow roads in the mountains. (All my respect to the bus drivers, honestly).

You can choose Ribeira Frio 11km trip, but we made only a shorter part of it.

We went there after we finished with dos Balcoes view point. We did not expect such a nice walk. There were a lot of greenery and water, waterfalls, different shades of green. We walk for 2h and then back same way. The best part was hight water wall where there were water dropping from the high on a green plants

The start is accessible from Funchal by bus 56. Not a technical hike. Can be combined with PR11, which I personally recommend! There is usually not a view from the path, as it's covered by trees, but still a recommended hike that is very easy to access from Funchal without a car!

Nice beginners levada hike we did with our 2-years old daughter. Kids friendly and easy to traverse with almost no incline. There are some nice views and small waterfalls on the way.

We actually did our hike the other way around. We stated in Portela because we don't like going down and prefer going up.

It's not very steep but it can be slipper in some areas. You'll be well shaded from the sun but make sure to use bug spray. If it's not a sunny day, bring some long sleeve clothing to stay warm.

Follow the water/river and you won't get lost. It's well-marked but soke areas can be confusing. Still, highly recommended!

You can get here by bus 103 (Rebeiro Frio) then bus 53 Portela) but plan the schedules properly (costs about €3 one way). Check the 103 bus schedule below.

After you visit Levada dos Balcoes I recommend taking this Levada. It’s 11km long trip through the forest, where you will see a few small ponds, small waterfalls and aome great view on the Machico. The end destination is Portella where usually stands a few taxis - ride to Machico costs about 18 euros.

One of the easiest levada walks where you can go with your baby in a babycarrier. Nice one

Closed because there’s a point about a quarter in from the RF end where part of the trail has fallen in the ravine - what’s left is still walkable, just need to be very careful for that portion (about 1-2m).

A classic levada, which feels a bit too long if you decide to do a round trip. The 7th kilometre is the most exciting with a row of short tunnels on the path. There are some picturesque passages with high steep walls. The waterfalls are nothing special, but there are two nice little reservoirs beneath them.

The route is of medium difficulty in one direction 11 km.
It's nice to go and enjoy the birds singing!
There are no toilets on the route.
Please do not litter on the route, if you go to the toilet take the paper with you, do not leave it !!

Great walk. It goes from Ribeiro Frio only down. There are miltiple waterfalls aned caves you go through. It is easy walk.

A nice and relatively easy levada walk surrounded by dense vegetation. We turned around before the descent to Portela which gave us a 16 km walk that took about 4 hours.

A nice levada hiking trail which is not crowded due to its 11km distance trail. We started out from Ribeiro Frio and ended our hike in Portela. There's a bus to Funchal from there so it was easy for us to ride back to the big town. We also took the bus to Santana and have it dropped us off at Ribeiro Frio. So this trail is easily accessible to those who do not wish to hire a car. The bus ride itself is also wonderful.

Beautiful walk for approximately 3,5h with many amazing sceneries. This levada offers very rich nature and stunning views - you will see many smaller waterfalls on rivers along the way and will also enjoy walking in a few tunnels and seeing monumental stones. The majority of the walk (apart from the ending part which is quite steep but offers a very different and beautiful nature full of colorful flower) is comfortable to walk as it's almost flat, so the only discomfort might be created by some very narrow parts next to steep hill slides and passing other people. As it's quite long levada (11 km) it's usually only walked in one direction from Ribeiro Frio to Portela and I would recommend you to do the same as it would be difficult to walk the journey in the opposite direction as it's so narrow. The only logistics problem we had was that we had to leave our car in R. Frio and take a taxi back (it cost 29 euros). There is also a bus stop in Portela but the buses don't drive back to the start of Levada but to Machico, Funchal and some other bigger places.