Travel Tips

The natural forest of Madeira (the Laurissilva) occupies more than 20% of the surface of the island, between the altitude of 300m and 1300m. You can find the majority of it on the northern side of Madeira Island, due to the lower temperatures and higher humidity. This is the biggest area of Laurissilva in the world and is said to be the best preserved.

Its origins are to be found in the Tertiary Period, when the Laurissilva forest covered a wide area of the Mediterranean. Now, it's limited to the bio-geographical region of Macronesia that consists of Madeira, the Azores, the Canaries and Cape Verde.
The word Laurissilva comes from the Latin 'silva', which means forest, and from 'Laurus' (lauraceae), family of the arboreal species that inhabits the forest.
Nowadays, it's classified as a 'UNESCO World Heritage' site.
This is the kind of forest where plant and animal species live together; dependant on each other and on the surrounding environment.

Madeira island is of course famous throughout the world for its natural beauty and is often called the 'floating garden in the Atlantic'.

There are however a wide variety of gardens and parks that are carefully maintained and exhibit a vast array of flowers, plants and trees. In 2000 Madeira received a gold award for Funchal entitled 'European Flowering City 2000'. This prestigious award which is much sought after by many a European city, has deservedly been presented to one of the most beautiful gardens in the world

Madeira, you can feel nature all around you!