Teleférico das Achadas da Cruz

The cable car at Achadas da Cruz was not built for tourism. The fajã below the village - a shelf of land at the base of the cliff, formed by landslide - was farmed for generations by people who reached it down a path cut into the rock face, carrying everything on their backs, and the cable car was installed in the 1970s so they could get produce up and supplies down. It drops about four hundred and fifty metres on a gradient close to vertical in a small cabin taking a few minutes, and it is genuinely alarming: the cliff face passes within arm's reach and the shelf appears below like a map. At the bottom are terraced plots still worked, a few huts, and a stony shore. It carries a handful of passengers at a time on a fixed schedule with gaps, and it stops in wind. The upper station has a viewpoint over the whole thing.

What you actually see

• The descent - about four hundred and fifty metres on a near-vertical line.
• The fajã - terraced plots still farmed on a shelf at the cliff base.
• The working origin - a lift built in the 1970s for farmers, not visitors.
• The upper viewpoint - the whole shelf and the north-west coast from the top.

When to go

Year-round. One to two hours including waiting. It runs on a fixed timetable with gaps and stops entirely in strong wind or maintenance.

Honest expectations

It closes for wind and maintenance without much notice, and the timetable has long gaps - check before driving out. The cabin is small and the descent frightens people. There are no facilities at the bottom. The north-west of Madeira is remote and often fogged.

Nearby

Porto Moniz and its pools are east; Fanal is on the plateau above.