Levada of the 25 fountains, and Levada do Risco

The 25 Fountains Levada is one of the best known walks on Madeira Island! An accessible route in terms of difficulty, about 12 km long with little difference in altitude. The real problem is that it is one of the most famous sites in Madeira, along with the Green Cauldron. As a result, the route attracts a lot of visitors, or rather tourists, and this distorts the charm of the place.

When and how to get to Rabaçal?

With your rental car, head for the Rabaçal valley, or more precisely the car park along the ER110 road, very close to the Serra plateau. The starting point is in the western part of Madeira Island, at an altitude of 1100m. To fully enjoy this magnificent site and its landscapes, it is best to go very early in the morning, to enjoy this magnificent immersion in the heart of Madeira's nature.

More about the hike

The proposed route takes you through two levadas: the Levada do Risco and the Levada des 25 fontes. We can use a shuttle to take us to the levada. The start of the tour goes down into the valley until you reach the Levada do Risco. The water trails will lead you to its source after a short walk of one kilometre: an impressive waterfall of more than 100 m high. The route is quite safe. We then go to the site of the 25 fontes: many small springs feed the levada of the same name and gush out of the rock face to fill a basin with transparent water!

The spectacle is striking, but it is not only that which makes the place incredible. Nature is omnipresent: the vegetation is dense and green around the irrigation channels. The route is particularly flowery. Also, the fauna is well present with many finches not shy! There are also breathtaking views of the island and its mountainous terrain. In short, a small corner of paradise accessible to all, if of course you get up early to visit the place in peace, and to avoid the tourist highway! For the moment, and to be honest, for the moment I hesitate in view of some disappointed comments seen here and there on the Internet.

Should we really do the 25 fountains levada?

We discovered it in the article about the levadas of Madeira Island: more than 2000 km of irrigation channels on the island. The possible hikes are numerous so you'll have to choose carefully. Yes the Risco waterfall is impressive. Yes, the 25 fontes site is magical. But the risk of ending up with a lot of tourists on one of Madeira's most famous spots puts me off a bit. What if I wasn't going to move away from the archipelago's hotspots as time went on? Hence my very harsh rating of 3/5 in interest. Many locals prefer to recommend the discovery of the Levada do Alecrim, which starts a few meters from the Levada des 25 Fontes.

Les dénivelés du parcours