Levada das 25 Fontes

Levadas are irrigation channels, thousands of kilometres of them, built from the fifteenth century onwards to move water from Madeira's wet north to the dry south, cut into cliffs and driven through tunnels largely by hand. The paths beside them are now the island's walking network, and PR6 to the 25 Fontes is the most walked of all: from Rabaçal the trail drops into a valley of laurisilva - the laurel forest that covered southern Europe before the ice ages and survives here as a UNESCO World Heritage relic - and follows the channel to an amphitheatre of dark basalt where springs emerge from the rock face in a scatter of falls and drop into a pool. Numbers on this trail are now limited and a fee applies, introduced after crowding and erosion. Sections are narrow with drops, and rockfall has closed it repeatedly.

What you actually see

• The levada - a hand-cut irrigation channel with a path running beside it.
• The laurisilva - UNESCO-listed laurel forest surviving from before the ice ages.
• The cirque - springs emerging across a basalt amphitheatre into a pool.
• The management - a booked, fee-paying trail after years of overcrowding.

When to go

Year-round, drier from May to September. Four to five hours including the descent and climb back. Book the trail slot in advance - numbers are capped.

Honest expectations

Booking and fees are now compulsory and enforced. Narrow sections with unprotected drops. Rockfall closes the trail without warning, sometimes for months. Constantly wet, muddy and slippery - proper footwear matters. Very busy despite the caps.

Nearby

Risco waterfall is on the same trail network; Paúl da Serra is above.