Madeira's levadas for a first trip: seven walks to start with

About an hour there and back from Ribeiro Frio, level the whole way. The path runs beside the channel through laurel forest dense enough to feel like jungle and ends at a round viewing platform, with the island's central peaks lined up across the valley. Chaffinches land on the railing within arm's reach. Pick a clear day, because in cloud the platform looks out at a white wall. Go early as well: around 8.30am there's still room in the car park, but it fills up soon after. Buses stop a few steps from the start.

A wide, flat path with no climbing, shaded by forest all the way, and a levada beside it with waterfalls coming down. The trail goes from Pico das Pedras across the valley to the thatched houses of Queimadas Forest Park, and you come back the same way. Early in the morning, birdsong is the loudest thing you'll hear. After rain, long stretches turn to deep mud, so wear boots with a good grip. Download a map before you set off: there's no mobile signal on the route.

Almost flat and well waymarked, the path leads through dark, dripping laurel forest to a cluster of waterfalls at the far end, and passes right underneath one of them. You'll get wet even on a dry day, so pack a waterproof and a cover for your rucksack. Allow about three and a half hours there and back. You need a ticket for this trail, and in the morning a ranger checks tickets at the start. Expect mud whatever the weather, and queues on the narrow single-file stretches when it's busy.

One of the most visited levadas on Madeira. From Rabaçal the two routes start together and split further down. The short branch goes to the Risco waterfall, and the long one to a pool beneath a rock wall where thin streams of water trickle down side by side. These are the "25 fountains" the route is named after. The path is mostly steps and narrow walkways, and when a group comes the other way, everyone stops. In summer the car park can be full by 9am, so come early or after 4pm, when the crowds at the falls thin out. A paid minibus shuttle runs in the middle of the day and saves you the steep walk back up the road from the trailhead.

The quieter neighbour of 25 Fontes, also starting from Rabaçal. It runs higher up the same green valley and reaches a waterfall above the Dona Beja pool in about an hour, with far fewer people on the way. Railings or dense scrub line most of the path. The catch is the steps: a steep climb at the start, and a long staircase if you carry on past the pool to the viewpoint. After heavy rain the levada can spill over the path and force you to turn back. There are no toilets or drinking water along the trail itself, so bring plenty to drink.

A levada that starts in town. You pick it up in the streets of São Martinho in Funchal, about 100 metres from the bus stop by the Hotel Panorâmico. As the houses thin out, the path runs on between banana terraces with the sea below. The whole levada runs about 8 km one way, but turning back after an hour makes an easy stroll. Where it crosses a road above the Forum Madeira shopping centre, there's a café by the path. Head east from the start and you come out by the football stadium, where you can catch a bus back.

Here the bus stop is right on the levada. Get off near Camacha and you're on the path. It runs flat through woods of oak, pine and eucalyptus, with no drops or steep sections, and there's a café along the way. The walk is out and back, so you choose the distance. The trees shade the whole path: a relief on a hot day, but chilly on a cool one, so bring an extra layer. Don't rely on Google Maps here: it doesn't treat levadas as paths. Just follow the water.