Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo: Breathtaking Mountain Hike with Views in Madeira

The spectacular mountain hike is a must-do before heading home. On a cloudless day, or when ascending above the mist, you can enjoy sweeping vistas of towering peaks. You’ll encounter some tunnels on your journey, flashlights will be provided. The adventure concludes at Achadas do Teixeira, where our bus will be ready for the return trip to the hotel.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Pico Ruivo - The best mountain walk in Madeira. You will start at the 3rd highest peak of Madeira and finish at the highest, Pico Ruivo. Along the walk all the rock formations and high altitude vegetation can be seen.
What's Included
  • Air-conditioned transportation
  • All fees and taxes included
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(76 Ratings)
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Kevin
Aug 17, 2024
Pr1 sunrise trek - Again opted for maderia free spirit walks to do the famous sunrise pico to pico tour. We were driven to Pico Do Arierio where our driver allvaro started the day with hot chocolate and homemade cake! This tour take a headlight or torch as to reach the viewing point you need to navigate dark paths. Our guides Maria and sofia made sure we had a good viewpoint for sunrise.basically, it's a wonderful you have to be prepared for a bit of a workout to get to Pico Arivo. The tour however offers a "soft" option which allows you to experience the sunrise then drives you closer to the finish point which STILL requires some legwork but I though it was great of them to offer this and some guests took it. The way we took around was spectacular! Our guides took us along at a steady pace advising us along our way .it has to be said though some people think it's a race you just let them past. After ups and downs and about 5 tunnels you arrive at pico Ruivo and by then very hot and for us this was another good reason to do this tour as opposed to start later in the day. Fully recommend this trip with maderia free spirit walks
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q1537xomichaelw
Aug 1, 2024
Stunning hike to Madeira’s highest point - What a hike! The views from the top are incredible - but you do have to earn them. This isn’t the easiest of hikes but it sure is worth it. Our guide, Yulya, made everyone feel super safe, was very caring, and also informative about all the local flora and geology. Would thoroughly recommend this tour company to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lozzasloan
Jul 31, 2024
Outstanding customer service and safety - Excellent service from start to finish with this company. Excellent safety advice and guidance. Excellent communication. Excellent customer service. Excellent tour. As a very experienced walker I wanted a reliable company. Maria our guide was outstanding!!! Very knowledgeable and took care of the group perfectly! Please note that this walk is exactly as advertised- it is a challenge, but the company are clear about this.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cj000cj
Jul 11, 2024
Amazing Experience, Amazing Views, Amazing Guide (Julia) - Wow, wow, wow!! What an experience, I would recommend this to anyone that loves a good view (there are amazing views the whole way round) and is willing to work for it. Our guide, Julia, was amazing - she was very knowledgeable and ensured we and other hikers outside of our group were safe the whole way round. She was also a great laugh and keeping a smile on everyone's face.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laurabc1740ci
May 9, 2024
Beautiful and exhausting - We had a great hike with our guide. It was a lot of fun and the view was truly breathtaking. The hike is definitely doable for people who don't usually go hiking that often. Only the 500 meters of stairs were a real challenge. But overall it was really great, I would definitely recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tonigb9754wz
Jan 29, 2024
Fantastic!! Highly recommended! - Free spirit walks are a fantastic company to book your hikes through, with knowledgeable guides who are safety conscious. We were due to do the Pico Areiro to Pico Ruivo hike however due to landslides the route was not accessible, when we booked we were made fully aware of this and an alternative hike was provided which we were more than happy with, we hiked from Achada do teixeira to Pico Ruivo and then had a stop off in Santana and to a Viewpoint shortly after. Our guide Philip was fantastic and made regular stops during rhe hike to allow fellow hikers to rejoin the group whilst giving valuable information about local flora and fauna and facts about Madeira and her mountains. We would highly recommend hiking with Free spirit walks to fellow travellers in the future and we will be booking again upon our return.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H2136guhelenav
Nov 29, 2023
Unforgatable hike & excellent guide - Pico do Arieiro - Pico Ruivo - Achadas do Teixeira. The trip hike itself was amazing – georgous views – got there in the morning ahead of the big groups. So quiet and peaceful. The pace was set comfortable for everyones fittness. Difficulty: moderate to hard (especially the stairs). Felipe our tour guide, was very friendly, welcoming, a lot of knowledge, careful and patient. Small group was great. Jorge (driver) safe and friendly as well. Was picked up on time at the agreed location. Comfortable and clean car. Definitely a tour company I would go for again and highly recommend! Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thank you Felipe and Jorge – I wish you all the best – and hopefuly I‘ll get a chance to go back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Clinton_a
Sep 1, 2024
Substitute Trip - Unfortunately due to the recent forest fires this iconic walk was cancelled due to safety reasons and concerns and the need to evaluate the conditions- I was offered another two trips as a substitute and the one i chose was excellent and our guide Maria was fantastic and had a very enthusiastic love of the area
Review provided by Viator
Kelly_p
Sep 22, 2024
Disappointing - This was cancelled at the last minute. We were offered another day when we weren’t on the island. I asked to change to a different tour. I was not helped at all with planning something different. Went with another company.
Review provided by Viator
Mohammad
Jun 27, 2024
Find another company - No time or chance to take in the views and look around the place on this tour. Not even a tour it’s more a marathon than anything else. Would not recommend unless you plan on speed running this. Also the tour guide will end up shouting at you and calling you unfit just because you take your time and want to reach the actual peak of the mountain and not their affiliated shop. 1/10.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
November 2024
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