Fanal forest, Madeira: getting there, fog and walking choices
Plan a Fanal forest visit separately from the full PR13 and PR14 hikes. Compare road access, one-way walking logistics and weather without relying on guaranteed fog.
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Visit the forest or commit to a full hike?
Visit Fanal for its old til trees and Laurissilva forest, but decide first whether you want time around the Forestry Station or a full marked hike. A forest stop is not the same undertaking as PR13 Vereda do Fanal, a 10.8 km route from Assobiadores, or PR14 Levada dos Cedros, a 7.2 km route to Curral Falso. Both are officially moderate walks.
For a first visit focused on the trees, make the Forestry Station area the destination rather than automatically following a long trail. Allow roughly one to two hours as a planning choice, adjusted for conditions and how much you want to walk. Do not budget for the whole PR13 or PR14 within that short stop.
Visit Madeira: Fanal Forestry StationWhere Fanal is and how to organise the arrival
Fanal is in Porto Moniz municipality, between the Seixal and Ribeira da Janela mountains. The official PR13 and PR14 descriptions place their Fanal access on regional road ER209. Use Fanal Forestry Station as your destination when arranging a visit; use the exact named trailhead when arranging a hike. Assobiadores and Curral Falso are not interchangeable drop-off points.
A hire car, a prearranged driver or an excursion with an explicit Fanal stop are the transport choices to compare. Agree the return pickup before leaving mobile reception behind. Do not treat a bus reaching Porto Moniz or Seixal as proof that it reaches the forest, and do not plan to walk from the coast as an incidental extension to a beach day. This guide does not establish a scheduled public-bus service to Fanal.
Visit Madeira: PR13 Vereda do FanalFanal stop, PR13 or PR14?
Swipe or scroll sideways to compare every column.
| Your decision | Route or visit | Return and main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Forestry Station area | A short forest visit around the Fanal destination; choose your own duration. | Keep the same collection point. Fog, rain or poor visibility can shorten the stop. |
| PR13 Vereda do Fanal | 10.8 km; official estimate 4 hours; moderate. ER209 Assobiadores to ER209 Fanal. | Different start and finish. Arrange a transfer; the published distance is not a circuit back to your car. |
| PR14 Levada dos Cedros | 7.2 km; official estimate 3 hours; moderate. ER209 Fanal to ER209 Curral Falso. | Different points on the same road. Arrange collection or a deliberate return plan; do not assume they are adjacent. |
PR13: Assobiadores to Fanal is a hiking day
PR13 begins on the Paúl da Serra plateau at Assobiadores and finishes at Fanal. Visit Madeira gives an altitude range of 1,130–1,420 metres and a moderate rating. Its four-hour estimate is for the listed trail, not a return to Assobiadores, a Funchal transfer or a prolonged photography stop.
If your main goal is simply to see the trees near Fanal, you do not need to select this full route. If you do want PR13, book the correct route and arrange transport for its different endpoints. Do not reverse-engineer a circular hike from a photograph or a general forest map.
Visit Madeira: PR13 Vereda do FanalPR14: a levada route with a separate finish
PR14 starts at ER209 in Fanal and ends at ER209 in Curral Falso. The official description gives 7.2 km, three hours and moderate difficulty, with an altitude range of 840–1,090 metres. That is a longer forest walk, not the short route to choose solely because it follows a levada.
Use the endpoint names when organising a driver. Being on the same regional road does not make the return automatic, and walking the full route back adds distance and time. If you want a shorter, lower-commitment levada outing instead, compare the separately described short routes rather than assuming every levada is flat and easy.
Visit Madeira: PR14 Levada dos CedrosCurrent access and trail reservations
Checked on 25 October 2026, IFCN’s classified-route table lists PR13 and PR14 as open; its notices also list them as passable. That supports planning those named routes under current conditions, not a guarantee for your holiday date or permission to ignore signs on the ground.
For covered IFCN trails, the published 2026 independent-visitor fee is €4.50 for an individual non-PR1 route. Online registration and a reserved entry slot through SIMplifica are required, including for exempt walkers. The route fee is not evidence of a separate blanket admission price for every part of the Fanal forest area. Use the booking service for your actual route and date, and do not turn an unconfirmed area-wide fee into a planning assumption.
IFCN: classified routes and current restrictionsFog is a possibility, not a booking promise
You cannot guarantee fog by choosing a month or arriving at a particular hour. Fanal also merits a visit in clear conditions, when you can see the tree shapes and surrounding terrain more easily. A forecast of rain or low cloud is not a reason to ignore warnings or drive into visibility you cannot manage.
Bring a waterproof outer layer, something warmer than your coastal outfit and footwear suitable for wet ground. Keep the visit near your agreed access point when visibility is poor, and abandon a longer walk if you cannot follow its markings confidently. Do not cross a barrier or leave the path to reproduce a photograph.
Combine Fanal with one part of the northwest
For a day with a short Fanal stop, choose Porto Moniz or Seixal as the other main destination rather than trying to fit both pools, a long levada and every viewpoint into the same outing. Decide the mountain segment around suitable road and weather conditions; keep swimming conditional on local sea conditions.
For a full PR13 or PR14 walk, give the hike priority and treat a coast stop as optional. Porto Moniz works for a waterfront overnight; Seixal works when its beach and village are the reason to stay. Neither is the actual Fanal trailhead.