PR12 Caminho Real da Encumeada: the high traverse (currently restricted)

Read this before you drive up. PR12 Caminho Real da Encumeada is restricted. The IFCN trail page lists the route as accessible only between Boca da Corrida and kilometre 3.5. Everything past that, including the descent to the Encumeada pass, is closed. We’ve sent guests up in the last six weeks expecting the full point-to-point and they’ve all turned around at the barrier. So this guide is honest about what you can actually walk right now. We’ll update it the day the regional government reopens the rest.

We still send guests to Boca da Corrida. The 3.5km that’s open is one of the prettier short walks on the island, the cobblestones are 400 years old, and the view over the Curral das Freiras valley on a clear morning is unreal. Just go in knowing it’s an out-and-back to a closed gate, not the full traverse.

The current status

The IFCN listing for PR12 is blunt. From the visitmadeira.com page:

“This route is accessible between Boca da Corrida and kilometre 3.5.”

What’s open: Boca da Corrida (830m, the southern trailhead) up to roughly the 3.5km mark. You walk through the cobbled royal path, contour around the western flank of Pico Grande, and reach a viewpoint over the Curral valley before the closure barrier.

What’s closed: everything past 3.5km. The continuation across the central massif, the descent toward Serra de Água, the finish at the ER-228 by the Encumeada pass.

The trail is officially classified moderate, max altitude 1,323m, full length 12.5km, 4 to 5 hours for the full point-to-point. None of that applies right now. The walkable section sits closer to 7km return, 2 to 3 hours, around 250m of climb out and the same drop back.

No official reason is published for the upper-section closure. Our best guess from the pattern on other PR routes is a mix of rockfall damage and bridge work that’s been ongoing since the 2024 winter storms. The IFCN does not publish reopening dates. We have asked.

The permit fee still applies on the open stretch: €4.50 per adult, free under 12, via SIMplifica or the madeira.fun workaround.

When the route is fully open

PR12 has cycled in and out of the closed list four times since 2022. When it does open end-to-end, the trail is one of the quieter classics. Less crowded than PR6. Less exposed than PR17. Historically meaningful in a way most levadas aren’t.

The full traverse runs Boca da Corrida (830m) up to 1,323m, then down to the ER-228 near the Encumeada cafe (1,007m). It’s a north-to-south spine of the central massif, walking the same cobbled stones the old landowners used. The IFCN description puts it well: the path was “much used by landlords, who would travel on horseback while their wives would lie in hammocks carried by men.”

When it reopens we’ll rewrite this guide. Right now the honest answer is: do not plan a Madeira trip around hiking PR12 end-to-end in 2026. Pick a date when you can swap if the status hasn’t changed.

Where it starts (Boca da Corrida, not Encumeada)

This is the part most blog posts get wrong. The trail is named “Caminho Real da Encumeada” and a lot of people assume you start at the Encumeada pass. You don’t.

Boca da Corrida is the official southern trailhead. It sits above Estreito de Câmara de Lobos at 1,235m, reached via a narrow paved road that climbs out of the village. From Ponta do Sol the drive is around 45 minutes: ER-101 east to Câmara de Lobos, then north and up the switchback road past Jardim da Serra to the Boca da Corrida viewpoint. There’s a small layby with parking for around 15 cars and a chapel (Nossa Senhora de Fátima) right at the trailhead. The road is steep and the last 2km has potholes, so take a rental car up there slowly. We’ve seen one wing mirror clipped already this year.

The Encumeada layby on the ER-228, the same trailhead you’d use for PR17 Pináculo e Folhadal, is the historical northern endpoint. When PR12 is fully open you can technically walk it in reverse from there. With the current closure at km 3.5 from the southern end, the Encumeada side is just closed gate. Don’t drive up there expecting to start PR12.

For the open 3.5km, park at Boca da Corrida.

What you see

The walkable stretch earns the drive even with the closure. You leave the chapel and the path opens almost immediately onto the Curral das Freiras valley to the east, a 1,000m drop straight off the right-hand side of the trail. Curral was the village where nuns hid from pirate raids in the 16th century. That kind of detail makes the cobblestones feel less ornamental.

The path is laid stone, mossy in the wet patches, dry and grippy in the open. It contours around the western flank of Pico Grande (1,654m) at a near-constant altitude. There’s no real climb until the final push before the 3.5km barrier, where the path angles up around 150m over half a kilometre to a small saddle. Pico Grande sits on the left, often capped in cloud by mid-morning. The Curral valley village is glimpsed 800m below on the right. Patches of laurissilva show up at the higher reaches, which most visitors don’t expect on the south side of the island.

It’s quiet. We walked it on a Saturday morning last month and counted six other hikers in three hours.

How to check before driving up

The IFCN trail status page is the source of truth. Bookmark this and check it the morning you plan to hike:

visitmadeira.com/en/what-to-do/nature-seekers/activities/hiking

Click PR12 in the list. The status line at the top reads “Open,” “Restricted,” or “Closed.” If it still says “Restricted” with the km 3.5 note, the situation is the same as in this guide. If it flips to “Open,” you can plan the full traverse.

A second check we recommend: the closed and restricted Madeira hiking trails post, which is part of our wider Madeira hiking guide. We update it monthly with the current status of every PR route. If you’re planning more than one hike around the Encumeada area, that’s the faster way to see the whole picture at once.

Permit booking is separate. Even if the trail is open, you still need to book via madeira.fun/hiking or the official SIMplifica portal. €4.50 per adult. Takes about five minutes if the site behaves.

Alternatives if it’s closed (or you want something different)

Two trails sit close to Boca da Corrida or Encumeada and make good swaps.

PR17 Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal is the Encumeada area, different character entirely. PR17 is exposed, cable-assisted, dramatic. It’s the one we send fit, vertigo-free guests on when PR12 is shut. Be honest with yourself about heights before you commit. The full breakdown is in the link.

PR2 Vereda do Urzal is a quiet loop through laurel forest above Boaventura, on the north slope. Different driving direction from Boca da Corrida but in the same broader region. PR2 is well-marked, low exposure, almost always open. A good rainy-day plan B.

If neither fits the day, the Madeira hiking guide lists the 27 PR routes currently open. Pick by what’s near you and the weather you’ve got.

FAQ

Is PR12 worth going right now? For the 3.5km open section, yes. It’s a beautiful short walk with serious history and one of the best valley views on the south side. For a full day hike, no. You’ll be back at the car in under three hours and wishing for more. Plan a second activity. The Curral das Freiras village itself is a 25-minute drive and worth the lunch stop for chestnut soup and chestnut liqueur.

How long does the open section take? Around 2 to 3 hours return for an average hiker. 7km, 250m climb. Take twice the time if you stop for photos at the Curral valley overlook (you will).

Can I hike it without a permit? Officially no. The €4.50 SIMplifica fee applies to all of PR12, including the open stretch. Enforcement at Boca da Corrida is sporadic and we’ve never seen a permit check there in person, but the official position is that you need one. Book it.

Is the closure permanent? We don’t know. The IFCN doesn’t publish reopening dates. Based on past patterns, PR12 has reopened within 6 to 18 months of similar closures. We update this guide and the closed trails page when the status changes.

Can I hike from the Encumeada side instead? No. The closure runs across the middle of the trail, which means both ends are affected. Boca da Corrida is open to km 3.5, the Encumeada side is closed back to the same midpoint. There’s no useful “reverse” walk from Encumeada right now.

Is it suitable for kids? The open section, yes, from around age 9. The path is cobbled, mostly flat to gently climbing, with one section that has serious exposure on the right side over the Curral valley. Hold hands at the viewpoints. Not appropriate for under-7s.

When does Madeira typically reopen restricted trails? After the rainy season ends (April or May) is the most common window for maintenance-driven reopenings. The full picture of which months work best for hiking is in our best time to visit Madeira guide.

Stay a month and catch the day it reopens

PR12 punishes the one-week traveller. You fly in for seven days hoping to do the full traverse, the status is still restricted, and you settle for the 3.5km out-and-back. Fine, but not the trail.

Stay a month at Banana House and the maths flips. You hike the open stretch on a clear morning the first week, refresh the IFCN page every Sunday over coffee, and if it reopens you’re 45 minutes from Boca da Corrida and can be on the cobblestones before lunch. Two months and the odds get better.

Pick a month. We’ll check the trail status with you over breakfast.