Adventureline International goes walking again on the beautiful sub-tropical Island of Madeira.

"A week in Madeira" Special group bookings only. This is an ideal destination for groups of friends or societies who all want to travel together - we can make it happen for you. Please contact us if you would like to try and arrange a special holiday.

Madeira is situated in the Atlantic, about 500 miles west of Casablanca, (Morocco) and about 500 miles north of The Canary Islands. The island is administered by Portugal. It was first discovered in 1420 by the Portuguese explorers, Joao Goncalves Zarco and Tristao Vaz. Up until that time, the island (and the nearby neighbouring islands of Porto Santo and the Desertas) had been completely un-inhabited by man. Until that date, the islands had been cloaked in thick forest.

Due to it's latitudinal position right in the middle of the meteorological area known as the "Azores High" - it enjoys "year round" warmth and ideal growing conditions for all kinds of exotic plantlife. It is this wonderful plethora of plants and the very pleasant climate which attracts us - together with quite dramatic mountain scenery - all volcanic in origin and only about 10 million years old! (Amazing geology, quite unlike Cornwall!). The volcanic soils are of course, VERY fertile, as you'll see.

Many people have heard the word Madeira. To some it may conjure up Madeira Wine or Madeira Cake; fewer people have heard of the island of Madeira or know of its location; fewer still have actually visited this floral paradise.

Madeira, "The Pearl of The Atlantic", covers an area of 720 square kilometres, slightly larger than the Isle of Man, in Britain's Irish Sea. Whether you arrive by air or sea, it is an awe-inspiring and breathtaking sight. A speck of dust on the horizon slowly becomes larger and larger until the entire "eye picture" is filled with mountains running down to meet the sea. White walled buildings with red pan tiled roofs cling to the steep hillsides - and behind the principal town of Funchal, the green backcloth of the mountains and their grey summits contrast dramatically with the blue of the sea.

When arriving by air, the peaks of the mountains rise up out of the clouds to meet you, then it's through the cloud and down in a wide sweep over the sea and along the coast past Santa Cruz, so close to the mountains that you think the wing tips are touching them! And then, suddenly, you are down and the engines are switched off.

You emerge from the plane to the smell of warm fresh air tinged with the sweet aroma of flowers. For this is an island of flowers; they grow in great profusion by the roadsides, along the levadas, in gardens and in thousands of plant pots, sitting on the patios and paths around the local houses. The trees are equally amazing - many of them with huge unusual flowers.

The "levadas" are a comprehensive network of watercourses - constructed by man since as early as 1461. In Cornwall, the old tin miners fashioned similar channels called leats, though in not such quite dramatic situations! The Madeiran levadas are (in some places) hewn from steep mountainsides and even go through tunnels, so that fresh water from the wetter north side of the island can be distributed to the drier south side.

Because the island is made from volcanic basalt and pumice, it acts like a sponge - and holds millions of litres in it's structure, to be slowly released over time, in such a way that man has been able to re-route it's course to his demand! Over the centuries, many men died in the construction of the levadas - often dangling from high precipices in rope baskets, whilst they hacked away at the tough rock. One can only wonder in awe at their endeavours these days, for health and safety laws would certainly never allow such practices in modern times.

For the walker today, the levadas permit access to a wonderful variety of landscapes, which would otherwise be inaccessible. Most of the levadas have level paths along their sides - even through the tunnels! Some of them are not for the "faint-hearted" - as they have quite high vertical drop beside them, but we will be able to choose routes which suit us.

Often, the paths are overhung with flowers and other unusual sub-tropical plants and they nearly all give wonderful views down towards the valleys and sea. They also pass through some traditional settlements, some of which are quite poor. For although the island has obviously benefited from tourism since the advent of cruises and air flight, the wealth has not necessarily spread right down through the social structure.

In the capital Funchal, we'll stay the last day and night in an old "Residencia" hotel (with a pool) so that we may relax after the walking. This last day will be a free day for your own personal exploration and relaxation. There is a good public pool, which is free. The town appears quite prosperous and is a busy, bustling town, with a very lively sea front and harbor, good shops and a wonderful fresh produce market.

The restaurants are numerous and we'll sample a couple while we are there. The local (and unique) Black Scabbard fish is wonderful - and I'm sure it may well become a favorite with you also! At the other hotels we'll use earlier in the week, we'll usually eat "in house" - the variety of the situations allowing us a good overall view of the whole island. We'll take packed lunches with us on the walks, so that we can be out all day.

With the guidance of my friend Carlos Rodrigues - and his considerable local knowledge of botany, history and geology, I know that you'll come to have a good understanding of Madeira's principal features and wildlife. Carlos is Portuguese, with a good knowledge of English.

ITINERARY - this will depend to a large extent on the weather each day and we'll select walks which suits the prevailing conditions. Some days, we may not be able to see through the clouds if we go too high, so we'd stay lower down - amongst the lush vegetation. The Madeira climate is usually warm and pleasant however. Typically 17-23C in March, for example - and warmer later in the year.

Carlos knows a lot of Madeiran history and also the names of most of the plants and trees. As you know, it's always best to have along with you, a real local, who will make the place "come alive." Together with his local knowledge and my own general knowledge of volcanic principles and natural history, we should be able to experience a lot of what makes Madeira so very unique.

You will have the option to walk on 5, or even 6 of the days (if we are doing a week's holiday) - although you would be free to take a break any time - and just swim, stroll, sunbathe or "sight-see" locally. A selection of levada walks, mountain walks and coastal cliff walks will be most suitable for an introduction to Madeira.

On the first day, we'll see how the vertical aspect affects you and then finalize the plans for the rest of the week! There are all kinds of grades of walks available and we'll only attempt what you are comfortable with.

I should mention that if you suffer unduly from vertigo, Madeira is perhaps not the place for you! It is a very precipitous island and you should feel quite comfortable with heights and drops quite close beside you. If we get really clear weather on one day at least, we would like to take you to the very mountaintops - up around the 1800m (7000 ft) height.

There are two walks of this type we have in mind - which cross over and past several great peaks - wild rugged country and really quite spectacular - and well worth the strenuous effort required. On such routes, there will be quite a lot of ascent and descent - quite a contrast from the flatter levada walks.

The highest mountain tops are rocky and bare, (although with giant tree heather in places and lots of flowers), but lower down, one passes through pine and eucalyptus forest, with some acacia and sweet chestnut too. Even lower down, one of the principal crops is bananas.

One of the main features of the whole island are the terraces which man has constructed on the steep hillsides, so that he may more easily cultivate the land. A vast range of crops are cultivated, including bananas, sugar cane, potatoes, cabbages, onions, sweet chestnuts, many soft fruits, apples and cherries, grapes, cereals and flowers. There is a truly incredible variety of crops that they grow in Madeira, and in April it will be springtime, so we should experience the first growth of the more seasonal plants, though many other plants - particularly flowers - continue to grow throughout the year.

The cost last time was 950 euros "all inclusive" plus your airfare. By "inclusive", we mean full accommodation and all meals, transport and guidance by myself and Carlos - and all luggage transfers. Evening meals will be taken in the hotels and local restaurants and we have estimated a per person spend for each day, which could be added to personally if desired, to include wine, etc. The only things not included are your lunch and dinner on the free day. The cost is based on two persons sharing a room, so if you are a single, then there would be a small single room supplement of about 100 euros in total (based on one week).

The normal weekly tour uses 4 different hotels and we spend 2 nights in two of them and one night in the others. The last whole day (a Sunday) will be a free day in the capital, Funchal. Currently, the charter airlines which fly to Madeira from England fly out on Mondays, so we will run as such, unless changes to schedules are brought in.

Madeira is traditionally a difficult destination to arrange anything for, as it has no scheduled flights serving it - and to a certain extent, we have to be flexible in our approach. There are also regional flights available - for example from Exeter or Bristol airports. Usually, our "foreign destinations" are booked by those who have been walking with us before in Cornwall (or eslewhere), so they have some considerable confidence in our ability to arrange things well and comprehensively.

If you have any further questions, please do get back to us.

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