Camacha is a parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz, in the mountainous interior of southeastern Madeira, 7 km northeast of Funchal and 3 km north of Caniço. About 6,200 people live in its 19.58 km². The first organised game of football in Portugal was played here in 1875, arranged by the Madeira-born Harry Hinton, and the parish keeps a long reputation for wickerwork and for folk music and dance. It stands high enough above the sea for cloud to settle over the village while the coast below is still clear.
Camacha
- Currency
- Euro, in place of the escudo since 2002. Multibanco and ATM Express cash machines take international cards almost everywhere and mostly charge nothing of their own, while the Euronet machines clustered in tourist streets take high fees and give poor rates. VAT is already inside every price in shops and restaurants: 23% standard on the mainland, 22% in Madeira and 18% in the Azores.
- Language
- Portuguese, spoken here with a heavy accent even by mainland standards. English gets you about as far as it does on the mainland, and an attempt at a few Portuguese words is always taken well.
- Power plug
- Type C / F, 230 V, 50 Hz
- Visa
- Schengen: entry and short-stay limits follow the common Schengen rules.
- Time zone
- UTC+0 (UTC+1 in summer)
- Tap water
- Safe to drink across the country. Bottled spring water (água mineral) is sold everywhere for those who prefer it.
- Tipping
- Not expected, appreciated for good service. Around 8–10% in a restaurant if the service was exemplary, and it is perfectly acceptable to leave nothing if it was not. No tip for a coffee or a cake; €1–2 if you eat a full meal in a café. Nothing in pubs and bars. In a taxi, round the fare up and add €1–2.
- Emergency
- 112
When to go
Shoulder
Mar – May
The hillsides are green and flowering, and cloud comes and goes over the interior through the day.
High season
Jun – Sep
The warmest and driest stretch, and the busiest; the interior still builds cloud in the afternoon while the coast below stays bright.
Shoulder
Oct – Nov
Rain returns to the slopes and the village goes quiet between the summer visitors and Christmas.
Low season
Dec – Feb
Coolest and wettest months up here: cloud can sit on the village for days while the coast is clear at the same hour.
How long to stay
Half a day covers Camacha itself — the square, the church, the views down towards the coast — which is why it usually goes into a wider drive around the southeast of the island. Two or three nights make sense for anyone who would rather sleep up in the hills than on the seafront, with Funchal only 7 km away for an evening out.
Getting around
A car is the practical way in and out. Camacha lies 7 km northeast of Funchal, 3 km north of Caniço and 6 km west of Santa Cruz, and all of it is uphill from the coast, since the parish sits in the mountainous interior. The island's airport is down on that coast, by Santa Cruz. Buses link the village with Funchal. Inside the village, walking covers the centre, though the ground tilts almost everywhere. Cloud settles on the high ground here while the coast below stays in sun, so the drive down can change the weather completely.
What to see
Destinations in Camacha
Frequently asked questions
Where is Camacha, and how far is it from Funchal?
In the mountainous interior of southeastern Madeira, in the municipality of Santa Cruz — 7 km northeast of Funchal, 3 km north of Caniço and 6 km west of Santa Cruz.What is Camacha known for?
The first organised game of football in Portugal was played here in 1875, arranged by the Madeira-born Harry Hinton. The parish also carries a long reputation for wickerwork and for folk music and dance; the folklore specialist Maria Augusta Nóbrega (1929–2007) came from Camacha.How big is Camacha?
A civil parish of 19.58 km² with around 6,200 residents. The 2011 census counted 7,449 people.Is Camacha worth a trip out from Funchal?
It works as a half-day stop folded into a drive through the southeast of the island: a hill village with the football history, the craft tradition and long views over the coast, rather than a full day's programme on its own.