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Madeira's Peaks Hike: Trek Among the Highest Points on the Island
4.2
45 Ratings
Funchal
Embark on an exhilarating hike through Madeira’s highest peaks, starting at Pico do Areeiro and reaching the summit of Pico Ruivo. Experience breathtaking views and conquer the island’s tallest point!
Embark on an exhilarating hike through Madeira’s highest peaks, starting at Pico do Areeiro and reaching the summit of Pico Ruivo. Experience breathtaking views and conquer the island’s tallest point!
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Pico do Arieiro - The start of the walk is at Pico do Arieiro, the highest point accesible by car in Madeira with outstandig views
- Pico Ruivo - Pico Ruivo, Madeira´s highest point at 1862m
- Pico do Arieiro - The start of the walk is at Pico do Arieiro, the highest point accesible by car in Madeira with outstandig views
- Pico Ruivo - Pico Ruivo, Madeira´s highest point at 1862m
What's Included
- Insurance coverage as per Portuguese law
- Round-trip transfer for the walk
- Certified driver and expert mountain guide accompanying
- Insurance coverage as per Portuguese law
- Round-trip transfer for the walk
- Certified driver and expert mountain guide accompanying
What's Not Included
- Drinks and food
- Gratuities
- Drinks and food
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Embark on a journey amid the tallest peaks of Madeira!
Start at Pico do Areeiro, it’s not long before we reach the Ninho da Manta (Buzzard’s Nest) viewpoint. From here, enjoy views of the Fajã da Nogueira valley, a breeding ground for the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinnus), along with São Roque do Faial and much of the Central Mountain Range.
To get to…
Embark on a journey amid the tallest peaks of Madeira!
Start at Pico do Areeiro, it’s not long before we reach the Ninho da Manta (Buzzard’s Nest) viewpoint. From here, enjoy views of the Fajã da Nogueira valley, a breeding ground for the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinnus), along with São Roque do Faial and much of the Central Mountain Range.
To get to Pico Ruivo, elevated at 1862m, we have to navigate around Pico das Torres, climbing a demanding set of stairs hewn from the rock and then descend. The most challenging part of this path is the last uphill climb to the Shelter at Pico Ruivo. But the motivation to reach the island’s pinnacle propels us forward.
From the Pico Ruivo shelter, the trail carries on to Achada do Teixeira car park. There, you can spot the “Homem em pé” (Standing Man), a peculiar basalt rock formation noticeable as you descend the slope post the shelter at Achada do Teixeira.
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Location
Funchal
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.2
(45 Ratings)
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Emretj4410hk
Jan 19, 2025
Definitely recommend! - Challenging at times but a very enjoyable and rewarding experience and the views are to die for! The tour guide was also very helpful :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Belenresendez
Aug 24, 2024
Breathtaking Alternative Hike Die to Fires - Unfortunately due to the firesi wasn’t able to do the peak to peak. I was devastated because that was the whole point of my trip, but it gives me an excuse to come back. They offered an alternative tour of the Larano walk and it was absolutely beautiful! I had a blast and the views were incredible! It was just the right amount of information and just peaceful walking/hiking. Highly recommend this group for all of your hiking/walking tours.
Review provided by Viator
264henrikep
Jul 5, 2024
Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo Tour - I booked a hike from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo and Achada do Teixeira with Nature Meetings and can fully recommend this tour provider! One day before the tour, I received a detailed message with my pick-up time, what to bring, contact details etc. The next day, Nature Meetings picked me up at the agreed time directly at my hotel and we drove straight up to Pico do Arieiro. There, we met our very cool guide and received detailed information about the route, rules and what to expect. As the hike is challenging, Nature Meetings offered to take less confident hikers to Achada do Teixeira by minivan to allow them to hike to Pico Ruivo from there. From Pico do Arieiro, we walked about three hours to Pico Ruivo. The hike is very challenging (you will cover about 1.000m in altitude) so you may want to go on a few easier routes to test your stamina beforehand. But our experienced local guide made sure that the group was made aware of especially challenging passages and gave us time for breaks and pictures, while giving plenty interesting information about the area, birds and plants/flowers that grow up on the mountains. Once we arrived at Achada do Teixeira, we hopped back on the minivans and were driven back to our hotels. While my legs tell me that I should never go on such a tour ever again, my heart is so full from the experience that I will surely never forget, the pain was completely worth it. I wholehearted recommend Nature Meeting and would choose them again if my legs forget that experience and my wanderlust kicks back in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C1bdr
Jul 4, 2024
A challenging hike, but very much worth the hike. - We really enjoyed our trip with Rueben to Pico Arieiro and over to Pico Ruivo. Our driver and guided picked us up as planned and on time (All details were done through the Get My Guide app). Rueben was a wonderful host and very knowledgeable of our choosen hike (which does rquire a moderate to high level of fitness due to the steep climbs and the large amount of steps you climb)
From native flowers, the burnt heather trees, the red-legged partridges and their chicks, spectacular views above the clouds, walking through tunnels carved through the mountains (have a torch ready, your phone torch will do the job, as there are lots of puddles and can be low in height), and the great sence of achievement once you reach the summit of Pico Ruivo is fantastic.
Just a short distance before the summit there is a small shop/cafe and toilets (you need 50 cents to use the toilets at the beginning of your walk and at tnis rest stop) where you can purchase a cold drink and snacks. We sat and had our picnic at the summit and then walked back down to the cafe for a drink before heading off to return to our driver.
We would highly recommend using a tour guide as they know the routes well and if you were to get into any difficultes they know how to deal with them.
Make sure you have a good shoe/boot (a good pair of trainers is fine), a jumper/jacket (it can get very windy) a picnic and light snack, water, change for the toilets, sunlotion, sunhat/glasses, camera, tissues and handwipes, and most importantly, enjoy yourself - it's tough going in parts, but well worth the challange!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z1571aklucys
Mar 21, 2024
Beautiful walk, amazing guides! - Too windy to hike Pico de Aireiro to Pico Ruivo but still had an amazing day with Diago and Geronimo. They took us to Machico and we did a beautiful costal walk to Porto de Cruz. 100% recommend it was unreal. Obrigada Diago and Geronimo!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steven
Feb 15, 2025
Stunning views. Great guide. - Great walk with knowledgeable and really pleasant guide (Bruno). Due to recent fires some areas closed. Walk through the forest at the end to fill the time not really necessary. More time spent at summit would have been beneficial.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jo
Feb 18, 2025
PR1 closed and alternative or Pico Ruivo was mediocre. - The PR1 route remains closed, so we were offered an alternative to access Pico Ruivo from the north and then walk back to Teixeira. This walk ended up being considerably shorter than we were expecting, obviously if the route is closed, it is closed and there's nothing the tour company can do. Although I did expect the amount of time of the walk to be comparible.
The guide added very little to the experience (it felt like the very bare minimum), he didn't seem to like people very much- perhaps he is fed up of people turning up in jeans and tracksuits with inappropriate shoes and not equipped for any kind of mountain conditions?
We had booked this well in advance to celebrate a birthday and really wanted to complete a long challenging walk which we didn't get, so we have had a mediocre day.
Mountain microclimate being what they are also mean we didn't get good views, again can't be helped and I've tried to be objective in the score.
Perhaps the conditions today and the group of people made the guide decide it was best for the group to do a short walk?
There was also an issue with the minibus which appeared to be overheating so we had to stop twice whilst this was addressed on the way out, the bus did get us back without foing into limp mode again but there was quite a lot of nasty fumes coming into the vehicle.
All in all, pretty average and not what we wanted from the day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Onair52068662291
Nov 18, 2023
Fantstic view - We did the hike in lovely sunny weather 15. nov., and loved it.
At times there was a queue on the path, this particularly applied to the ladders and some of the stairs.
The guide was knowledgeable, but it was disappointing that he didn't inform us that we would not walk to the top of Pico Ruivo!
We also think that the 20 minutes to enjoy an "after walk" drink is a little short time, and was surprised that the guide did not gather the group and take a summary of the trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
L2843
Apr 15, 2025
Read the reviews before booking - Having booked this hike for months, we were rather disappointed to find that the ‘stairway to heaven’ walk was actually closed last year??!!!
What were we paying for???
It turns out that a ‘full’ day tour was actually half a day. The bizarre route up the mountain, off scale, was incredibly difficult, so much so that we abandoned the rest of the walk. The guide was not in the least bit interested. Advice to those booking this trip - don’t!!! £75 for a mini bus is extortionate. Find your own way and pay €3 to do the proper walk.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R2458mejoanneb
Apr 14, 2025
Disappointing, not what was advertised. - I booked a hike from Pico Ariero to Pico Ruivo as offered on the Get my Guide site.
This was advertised as a moderate hike which having read reviews of I was capable of doing. Cancellation is 24 hours prior to the hike so I was disappointed to receive an email that did not give us to time to cancel telling me the hike route was changed due to fires the previous year. The hike should not still be being offered if it cannot be completed. The change meant we did not see The Stairway to Heaven and the guide appeared to have added on an hours very hard (his words and the other hikers) mountainous climb with no view up to the start of Pico Ruivo. We stopped in a lay-by to be taken to a boulder led bush lined trail. I confess to find it very challenging and fell a few minutes behind the group, the guide did not check on me at all and strode ahead at the front with no input into the hike or group.
Once the first part was completed I was upset that I had not been given a chance to change to a different hike and by the lack of any communication from the guide. They should have given me notice with enough time I could change the hike and they should not be offering hikes that no longer are possible. Everyone on my trip had booked to see Pico Arieiro.
Very disappointing with a guide that has no interest in the people he is leading and a company that is not honest in what they are offering.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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