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| Pico Ruivo   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Madeira, Portugal, Europe Lat/Lon: 32.77000°N / 16.93°W Elevation: 6105 ft / 1861 m | Page By: Gangolf Haub Created/Edited: Jan 28, 2004 / Apr 30, 2006 Object ID: 152283 Hits: 5578 Loading... Page Score: 88.97% - 19 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
Summit view from Pico Arieiro |
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The island of Madeira is located in the Atlantic ocean about 450 km northwest of the Canarian islands. It has been created by volcanic eruptions but in contrast to the Canarias erosion has formed the island by creating bizzare rock formation as well as deep gorges. To me Madeira is "the vertical island" because wherever you go somewhere's a vertical drop of several hundred just beside you.
Weather conditions are pretty similar to the Canarias (see below), perhaps a little more humid. Since there are almost no sandy beaches most of the tourists that come to Madeira are hikers. The island is famous for its network of Levadas, irrigation channels that collect the water in the northern, humid part of the island and lead it through tunnels towards the southern half, somtimes covering a distance of up to 50 km. Since the levadas are level their maintenance paths are natural hiking trails. Therefore most of the hikes are pretty simple with almost no altitude differences but they are very exposed.
Pico Ruivo is - with 1861m of altitude the highest mountain of Madeira. It is part of the central mountain range, which in addition includes Pico das Torres (1847m), Pico do Arieiro (1818m) and Pico do Gato (1780m). This page includes information on all four summits.
Pico Ruivo
Slightly cone shaped main summit of Madeira. It can be easily reached - a parking lot is only some 2km away. The climb is short and easy. Lots of people up there.
Pico das Torres
Rugged summit with lots of needles and spires (bulls horns). There is no hiking trail up to the summit. Climbing neccessary. So far I haven't been able to find routes.
Pico Arieiro
Madeira's third highest mountain has a parking lot, a bar and souvenir shops on top. It serves as base for a very nice hiking trail to Pico Ruivo. Again lots of tourists.
Pico do Gato
Similar to Pico das Torres. Lots of needles, chimneys, spires. Ther is no hiking trail but climbing must be possible. The rock, however, is pretty soft and lose.
Getting ThereMadeira can be reached from any of the major European airports. There are almost no regular flights (with the exception of some portugese airports) but quite a lot of charter flights.
The trails described on this page start from Pico Arieiro, Achada do Teixeira, or from Boca da Encumeada. You'll reach the trailheads as follows:
Pico Arieiro:
Follow the freeway R101 from the airport to the west. At the exit "Gaula" get off on ER 206, direction Camacha. The road ends at an intersection (ER 102) where you turn right, direction Santo da Serra. At Ribeiro Joao Goncalves turn left onto ER202 which leads you straight up to Pico Arieiro
Achada do Teixeira:
Follow the freeway R101 towards it end at Machico and head northwest on the coastal highway R 101 towards Santana. In Santana turn left (filling station, sign: Pico Ruivo) onto a side street that after 14km leads you to Achada do Teixeira.
Boca da Encumeada:
Easier to get to: again take R101 until its end at Ribeira Brava. After the long last tunnel don't turn to Ribeira Brava but to Serra de Água (ER104). Just at the entry of the village turn left and go up to the pass.
Red TapeNo permits or parking fees needed. Park your car at the trailhead and just start climbing.
When to climbAnytime! Madeira doesn't know any seasons so these hikes are always possible. Since Boca da Encumeada is (situated on) the weather divide it might become foggy. The other trails, however, are pretty safe!
AccomodationYou can find lots of hotels and casas along the coast. Since Madeira is pretty small (you can reach almost any point within one hour by car) these locations should be sufficient.
As for campgrounds I found this link:
Madeira-Camping.com
Weather conditionsAs for the Canarias weather conditions cannot be predicted accurately. Madeira is located in the trade wind zone. You almost always encounter northeastern winds which carry a lot of humid air. Being forced to climb to higher altitudes this moisture condenses into clouds. This in return means that most of the time the northern part of the island is covered in clouds from altitudes of 1000m through 2000m.
The mountains themselves - being of the same altitude -finally stop the clouds so that on their southeastern slopes the clouds "run out". Look at the pictures - it looks like the clouds creeping over the weather divide. Boca da Encumeada - being some 500m lower than the surrounding summits - is a gateway for the clouds from north to south. Thus it very often is covered in mist.
Unfortunately all of the major peaks of Madeira lie around the weather divide. Sometimes within, sometimes just out of the clouds. Pico Grande is a little safer since it is located a little to the south of the divide and most of the time the clouds don't reach the summit.
You can get the actual forecast at Weather online
The following table shows weather data for Funchal on the southern coast. Be careful with these data if you want to climb the summits...
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | Avg. day temp.[°C / °F] | 16 / 61 | 16 / 61 | 17 / 63 | 20 / 68 | 24 / 75 | 27 / 81 | 29 / 84 | 29 / 84 | 27 / 81 | 23 / 73 | 21 / 70 | 17 / 63 | | Avg. night temp.[°C / °F] | 9 / 48 | 9 / 48 | 10 / 50 | 12 / 54 | 15 / 59 | 19 / 66 | 21 / 70 | 22 / 72 | 19 / 66 | 16 / 61 | 13 / 55 | 11 / 52 | | Water temp.[°C / °F] | 16 / 61 | 15 / 59 | 16 / 61 | 16 / 61 | 19 / 66 | 22 / 72 | 24 / 75 | 25 / 77 | 24 / 75 | 23 / 73 | 20 / 68 | 17 / 63 | | Rainy days | 12 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
NatureI had to include this section because I'm fascinated by the different Taginaste bushes in the Canarias and on Madeira. The ones in Gran Canaria - though only white - with their sweet smell attract lots of bees and butterflies. They are very similar to the blue Madeira variation (see below) but VERY different from the red Tenerife variation, the Taginaste del Teide.
MapsThere is one map I actually cannot recommend (so I won't) but Corax has suggested this one:
Madeira and Porto Santo
Euro Tour
1:75 000
ISBN: 972-9328-29-3
A map I don't own myself but which has also been recommended to me is:
Madeira
Freytag und Berndt
1:50000
ISBN: 3707904660
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