Miradouro do Véu da Noiva

The Véu da Noiva, the bridal veil, is a waterfall on Madeira's north coast that falls off the cliff and reaches the sea directly, with no beach or shelf between - a thin white column against black basalt, wider and heavier after rain. The viewpoint is on a section of the old ER101 coast road, the route that ran along the cliff with tunnels cut by hand and water dripping onto the carriageway, most of which has been replaced by modern tunnels. That old road is the other half of the interest: sections of it survive as viewpoints and short walks, and it shows what driving Madeira's north coast meant before the 2000s. Rockfall closes stretches of it permanently, and the viewpoint access has itself been closed and reopened over the years. The whole coast between Seixal and São Vicente carries falls of this kind.

What you actually see

• The fall - a column of water dropping off the cliff directly into the sea.
• The old road - a surviving section of the hand-cut ER101 coast route.
• The black basalt - the cliff face the water falls against.
• The north coast - a stretch carrying several similar falls between Seixal and São Vicente.

When to go

Year-round; the fall is heaviest after rain, which on this coast is often. Twenty to forty minutes as a roadside stop.

Honest expectations

Rockfall closes the old road sections without warning, and the viewpoint has been shut at times - check before making a detour. Parking is limited. The north coast is wet and cloudy far more than the south. Do not walk closed sections of the old road.

Nearby

Seixal is west; São Vicente and its lava caves are east.