Pisão Bridge

A levada path, a tunnel and a bridge over the water — and beside the bridge, the waterfall that makes the walk worth it. The waterfall is seasonal: through the summer it runs dry, and what is left is the levada, the ravine and the walking. From the east the last stretch reaches the bridge through a tunnel, and few people step into it without a pause at the mouth. Cross the bridge and the route carries on west, longer and further into the hills. Take the path to the left of the tunnel exit instead, off the levada, and it drops south to a residential road. Getting here is the hard part: driving directions to the bridge end at a place with no way in.

• Google Maps: the driving directions end at a point with no way in. Aim for the car park and walk in along the levada.
• Summer: the waterfall beside the bridge is dry through the summer months. The walk still works, the water does not.
• No facilities: no toilets, drinking water or information boards near the bridge. Carry water in.
• The tunnel: the approach from the east runs through a tunnel, and the path left of its exit, off the levada, runs south to a residential road.
• Over the bridge: the route west across the bridge is a longer walk into wilder country.

Car or bus, then legs. There is no driving to the bridge itself: the nearest car park leaves about 1.4 km to cover on foot, and the way in is the levada path. Bus stops sit on the road above, closer than the car park. The driving directions are the trap — they end at a point with no access, and people have turned back without finding the bridge at all. From the east the path runs into a tunnel and the bridge lies beyond it.

Better: outside the summer, when the waterfall beside the bridge is running.

Avoid: the summer months — the falls dry up and there is no water at the end of the walk.

The water is the reason for the detour and the one thing here that changes with the calendar. The levada, the tunnel and the view down the ravine are the same in any month.