A Path for Everyone (PR 9.1)

Wooden handrails run beside a wide, flat path, with the Levada do Caldeirão Verde alongside and laurel forest shading the whole length. The route is meant for people with motor and visual disabilities, and it is gentle enough for a walker recovering from knee surgery, so the forest on Madeira's north side opens up to people who could not manage a harder levada.

There are flowers and waterfalls along the way. Come early and the birds are singing along the route. The Queimadas end is the pay-off: thatched houses, tables, a cafe and a museum.

At Queimadas Forest Park you find thatched houses, a big car park, toilets, a cafe and a museum. The PR 9 trail meets the path here, and it is a separate route. PR 9.1 follows the Levada do Caldeirão Verde into the forest.

Along the levada the path stays wide and flat, with wooden handrails and the water beside you. The ground is generally firm, with rough and muddy patches, and after rain deep mud and large puddles fill parts of it.

At the Pico das Pedras end the path comes out on the road, with the forest park slightly further up the hill. PR 9.1 ends here. Return along the same path.

• Book first: mobile reception is poor here, and a slot has to be reserved online before you walk.
• Wheelchairs: after rain, walkers duck under the handrails to pass deep mud and puddles. A wheelchair cannot, so check the recent weather first.
• Footwear: the path is flat but rough in places and muddy after rain, so wear boots with grip.
• Facilities: toilets, a cafe and a museum are at Queimadas Forest Park, so from Pico das Pedras you reach them at the turnaround.
• Dogs: allowed on the trail.

You can start from either end by car. Queimadas Forest Park has the big paid car park. At the Pico das Pedras end you can park free slightly further up the hill and walk down the road to the path, but spaces there are very limited.

The walk is linear, and you return on foot along the same path, which doubles the walking time and adds no cost.

The nearest bus stop, Feiteira de Cima-Final, is about 1,900 m away in a straight line, and the walk from it runs longer than that. Mobile reception is poor in this area, so sort out your booking and directions before you drive up.

Best: a dry spell, early in the day.

Avoid: the days straight after rain, above all with a wheelchair.

Rain turns the wide, flat path into deep mud and large puddles, while an early start brings birdsong along the route; the forest shades the path at any hour.

PR 9.1 is a classified walking trail managed by IFCN, and everyone needs a booked entry slot, including those who walk free. Booking is online only, on the SIMplifica Portal; neither bookings nor fees are handled at IFCN premises. Slots cap the numbers on the trail and block automatically once full. You can enter around 15 minutes either side of your slot.

Madeira residents walk free with a resident card and citizen card, as do children aged 12 or under, and people with a disability of 60% or more plus one legal guardian, with documentary proof.

Rescheduling or a refund applies only when the trail is officially closed or restricted on the booked date. Rain or a change of plan loses the fee. The official IFCN trails page shows whether each route is open.

If you book several trails, the portal applies the cheapest combined rate at the end of the booking, but each trail still needs its own reservation.