Part of our complete guide: Madeira webcams: 18 live streams from across the island
Camera by Portal Netmadeira. Nothing reaches YouTube until you click. The click sends data to Google, including your IP address.
What you see
The access point to Rabaçal, up on the Paul da Serra, the high plateau at around 1400 metres. Two of Madeira’s best-known walks start here: the Levada das 25 Fontes and the Levada do Risco.
And you see whether you can see anything at all. That is the point.
When it’s best
Always, and immediately before you set off.
The Paul da Serra is a fog trap. On many days a cloud sits up there while Funchal is in sun — and the walk then takes place in a grey tunnel with twenty metres of visibility. The waterfall at Risco, the whole reason for going, is simply not there on a day like that.
Two things go with it:
- It is markedly colder up top. Rough rule: about 0.6 degrees less per 100 metres of altitude. At 22 degrees in Funchal that’s around 14 up there — plus wind.
- The fog often lifts in the late morning. If it’s grey at eight, look again at eleven rather than writing off the day.
Watch it or go?
Go if the camera is clear. Don’t if it isn’t — this is the one walk on the island where visibility decides everything.
The road down into the valley is closed to private cars; you park at the top and walk down or take the shuttle. Details and foggy-day alternatives: levada tours and the highlands.
