Vereda do Areeiro vs Vereda do Fanal

Vereda do Areeiro is the harder of the two on paper: graded hard against medium. Vereda do Areeiro climbs 112 m more, 416 m against 304 m. Distance pulls the other way: Vereda do Fanal is the longer walk at 10.8 km against 6.1 km.

Allow about 3h 30m for Vereda do Areeiro and about 4h for Vereda do Fanal, one way and at a walking pace. That is roughly 30 minutes more for Vereda do Fanal, before any stops.

Both are regulated IFCN trails, so both need a ticket, EUR 10.50 and EUR 4.50, bought through the SIMplifica portal.

Vereda do Areeiro

Choose Vereda do Areeiro if you are here for Tunnel, High ridge, Viewpoint, or if you want the shorter day.

Vereda do Fanal

Choose Vereda do Fanal if you are here for Endemic flora, Point to point, Viewpoint, or if you would rather not climb.

Which of the two is better on a given morning is a different question, and the numbers above cannot answer it: cloud, wind and closures change hourly and they change differently on the north and south coasts. Levadas scores both live and tells you which to drive to today.

For today's official open, closed or part-walkable status on any classified trail, see the Madeira trail status page