Levada do Furado and Balcões Viewpoint BY LOCAL BUS!

Levada do Furado has to be one of the most popular and easily accessible levada walks out there. It fits in quite nicely with the local bus schedule and is a relatively easy hike, compared to some of the longer and tougher hikes in Madeira. So we decided to go out and do all the work for those of you looking at hiking this path by local bus!

Firstly, you want to do this hike on a weekday (more buses) and get the first bus out of Funchal, which is the Santana bus no 56. Currently this bus is departing at 8:10 and costs 3.35 euros per ticket. The bus departs from the bus stop by the cable car entrance, the cable car that goes to Monte. There should be a few buses there so make sure you get on the right one! In case this information is outdated by the time you see this blog, you can check out the Horarios do Funchal website for more information on what time the bus leaves;

http://www.horariosdofunchal.pt/carreiras/santana.pdf

Once you’re on the bus it’s a 50 minute ride to Ribeiro Frio. You’re going to want to take the second stop at Ribeiro Frio and not the first, if in doubt ask the driver to let you know when you’re at the “Faisca Bar”, that’s where you’re going to want to jump off, for some breakfast poncha or maybe just a coffee before the hike.

Head up towards the Balcões Viewpoint, of which the path starts right next to the Faisca Bar. After climbing a few steps, it’s a 10 minute walk towards Balcões where you can enjoy the view and feed the birds, no bread please!