Pedra Rija Viewpoint

Wind, and little else to hear. Pedra Rija looks out over the mountains of central Madeira and the panorama runs a full 360°, so the ridge behind you carries as much as the one ahead — turn round at every stop instead of facing one way. On the right day the point stands above the cloud, with the valleys packed white below and only the summits breaking through. Photography is what most people make the walk for, and the ridge lines and the light do the work; the viewpoint adds nothing to it.

• Footwear. Trekking boots and mountain clothing. Sandals are the wrong thing to be standing in up here.
• No facilities. No toilets and no drinking water within 800 m of the point — carry water and anything you want to eat.
• Outside peak summer. Take warm and waterproof layers for the top.
• Sun. Sunscreen and something for your head; the ground here is open.

Public transport does not get you close: the nearest stops are around 2.5 km from the point, so almost everyone drives. The nearest car park sits roughly 940 m out on asphalt, with a second one just beyond it, and from either the rest is on foot over mountain ground. Count the walk in both directions before you plan anything else into the day.

Better: an early start, on the route by 8 or 9 in the morning.

Avoid: going up outside the peak summer season without warm, waterproof gear.

An early start gets the exposed part of the walk done before the sun is high, and the point is often empty at that hour — the only sound is the wind.