"Funchal, where the mountains meet the... " a Funchal Travel Page by Tricky_Dicky69

The island of Madeira is the largest island of the Madeira Archipelago. The island is just 57 Km long and 22 KM wide. The terrain is very hilly to say the least and highest point, the Pico Ruivo de Santana, is 1862 Metres above sea level.

The island is 800 KM west from the coast of Morocco and 1000 KM south-west of Lisbon and is on the same latitude as Bermuda which accounts for it's climate.

The island is very green and has an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. Madeira is blessed with an all year round mild climate and is sometimes called "The floating island of flowers in the Atlantic"

Madeira originated more than 20 million years ago as a result of a series of volcanic eruptions beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Layers of rapidly cooling lava and rock built up from the seabed to form the cone-shaped island. More than 60% of the islands mass is hidden under water at a depth of up to 3600m.

Funchal is the capital of the island and is situated on the south coast which is sunnier and drier than the north coast. Roughly 60% of the islands population live in or around Funchal.

The main shopping areas are situated in the main town and harbour while the majority of hotels are just to the west side of town. There is plenty to do and local buses are frequent and cheap.

Madeira is very popular with walkers and I can understand why. There is some spectacular scenery to be seen. My favourite walk is from Ribeiro Frio to Portela. This is a fairly easy walk due to the fact that it follows a levada and so is flat or slightly downhill. Much of it's 12 Km is throught the woods but there are some spectacular views of the mountains and down to the sea, on a clear day. Much of the path is uneven so a good pair of walking boots are required.