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Madeira's Peaks Hike: Trek Among the Highest Points on the Island
4.4
40 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
4.4
(40 Ratings)
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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
Odyssey23460933213
Sep 27, 2023
Challenging Walk through Madeira's highest mountains - Took a walk with Nature Meetings. We went from Pico do Arierio To Pico Ruivo then to Achada do Teixeira to our van, about 11 km. The guide was knowledgeable, organized and often funny. When the blurb says its a very challenging walk, they are not kidding. On our day, we were walking in the clouds for a lot of the time, and it was drizzling a good amount of the time. It was September, but it was often cold and windy, glad I had long pants, although I didn't use my jacket from my backpack. There is a lot of up and down in our walk, with the rain it was usually muddy and slippery on the rocks and pathways. The air is thin in the mountains, so what might be a difficult climb up a hill became that much more difficult here. My body sincerely hated me, but I'm very glad I did it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mark
Jul 19, 2023
Amazing experience - Highly recommend. Knowledgeable tour guide who took good care of the group. A strenuous hike but manageable for anyone with a decent level of fitness.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amegrange
Oct 17, 2023
Hiking - We had a very good day
Be careful, the hike is still quite difficult but it’s so pretty that it’s worth it.
I enjoyed doing it accompanied by a guide
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Itrac
Aug 15, 2023
Better than Solo - The beginning was a bit slow - though the latter half the guide had us walk at our own pace, so it was nice getting a combo of both that and staying with the group. I felt much more confident knowing there was a guide and other people a part of the group than I would have felt going alone.
Walking through the tunnels was really cool as well.
Could have done without the poncha at the end, after such a long day would have rather just gone right back to the hotel, unless the tour covered the drinks as part of the experience
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
343henk
Oct 16, 2023
You don't need a guide - I've started the morning by waiting 30 minutes to the pickup, I've called the office and got the answer: "they on their way just keep wating"
not even an appology.
The hike is well paved and we'll signed, there is no need of a guide, as I knew it already, I decided to join a guided tour for the knowledge I might gain from the guide, alas the guide was very unpleasant, his English was not good enough and not as expected from an English tour guide, I might even say the guide damaged my experience and enjoyment of the hike, the scenery was beautiful and the hike is well worth it.
To conclude: the company is not recommend at all, the hike is extremely recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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