1. Hiking levadas of Madeira: Levada do Rei
As you make your way along the paths that follow the aqueduct or levada you’ll realize that the Portuguese must have admired the scenic beauty in 1419 when they first explored the unique vegetation of Madeira Island. On your half-day walking tour of Levada do Rei, you’ll be experiencing one of Madeira’s most spectacular levadas. You’ll spend the first half of the walk in an exotic forest that is composed mainly of specimens of introduced flora. After about 30 minutes, you’ll enter one of the most well-preserved areas of the Laurisilva Forest. The forest was listed by UNESCO in 1999 as a World Heritage Site and is considered among the 7 wonders of Portugal. You’ll observe here, in abundance, the large number of endemic flora species of the island. The distance covered on this guided walk is approximately 10 kilometers.