Landscapes of Madeira 11th Edition

LANDSCAPES OF MADEIRA


THE guide to Madeira for the last 25 years and a winner of the Thomas Cook Best Travel Guide Award. It really is indispensable if you want to explore the best of the island. This new 11th edition is fully updated to reflect the many changes that have occurred since the 10th edition was published, including the significant amendments to routes resulting from the storm and fire damage of 2010 and 2011.

 

The Sunday Times said: 'A remarkable paperback which may have done more than any other to change the way its readers spend their holidays. This book single-handedly turned levada-walking into something approaching a craze.' While dedicated hikers will revel in the island's mountainous terrain, walking the 'levada' paths is one of the most popular activities with visitors. Levadas are watercourses that carry rainfall from the mountains to irrigate the cultivated terraces. These watercourses and their adjoining maintenance paths extend for an incredible 2150km/1350mi or more, but even more fascinating is their great variety. The older levadas, built centuries ago, are narrow and plummet steeply downhill from mountainside springs - really challenging walking. Their banks are covered with wild flowers, and the water rushes and foams with energy. The newer levadas are wide 'mini-canals' and run horizontally along the island's contours - ideal for easy walks. Their flow is stately and serene, and their banks are lovingly planted with agapanthus lilies and hydrangeas.


Apart from a wealth of information for visitors to Madeira who want to experience the fantastic walking the island offers (over 100 long and short walks for all ages and abilities), this book also includes much general information including car tour routes, picnic locations, timetables for public transport, useful phrases in Portuguese, suggestions for best times to visit and where to stay. Sunflower's unique online Update service providing details of changes in walking routes that occur from time to time, is available free of charge to users of the book.