Levada do Norte

Lizards scatter along the channel and grass grows out of its edges. The first stretch runs through vineyards, terraces and vegetable plots, past the alleyways that serve the houses, and then the levada pulls away into remoter valleys and wilderness before coming back to inhabited ground. The bends are where it pays off: the hillside falls away and the view opens out. A tunnel cuts through the rock, low enough that tall walkers have to mind their heads, and past the village the channel is carved into cliffs. Shade is scarce almost the whole way.

• Bring a torch or a headlamp. The tunnel is not long, but it goes dark about 10 m in, and the ceiling is low enough to catch tall walkers.
• The start is easy to miss. Look for the sign to a bar, then go half way up a flight of very worn steps.
• Do not navigate to it with Google Maps. The directions it gives for the start and for parking do not work; aim for the oriental café instead.
• No toilets, drinking water or information point anywhere near the path.
• There is little shade, so carry water on a hot day.

Bus 7 runs from Funchal to Câmara de Lobos, and the nearest stops sit about 565 m and 650 m from the levada. The stops themselves are poorly signposted, and services thin out on a Saturday, which makes the return the awkward half of the day. Driving, there are about five spaces near the start, plus a car park about 800 m away that costs nothing but is kept for customers; park near the oriental café and you will be close enough. The last part is on foot in either case, up a flight of very worn steps that you join half way. Taxis run from the car park at Cabo Girão Skywalk, which is worth knowing if you end the walk there.

Best: a cool day, and by bus any day but Saturday.

Avoid: hot weather, and Saturday if you depend on public transport.

Shade is scarce along the channel, so heat is felt the whole way rather than in patches, and Saturday services from Funchal are thinner than on other days.