PR9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde: six tunnels, a waterfall, walked properly

We hiked PR9 the first time in a slow horizontal drizzle that nobody in the car had taken seriously. Two guests in trainers. A phone torch that died inside the second tunnel. We finished anyway because PR9 forgives a lot, but we came home with wet socks and a rule: nobody walks the Caldeirão Verde without a real headlamp and a real shell. Four years later, after dozens of repeats from Banana House in Ponta do Sol, that rule still stands.

The trail in three sentences

PR9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde runs from Queimadas Forest Park at 880m, north through the laurissilva, into a hanging valley with a 100m waterfall at the end. Around 6.5 km each way, 13 km return, between 5 and 6 hours moving time, six unlit tunnels carved through volcanic rock. Difficulty is moderate. The path is flat (levadas follow the contour) but the surface stays wet, the tunnels are dark, and a few sections have drops to one side with only a low wire for company.

For the wider island context, start with our Madeira hiking guide.

Where it starts: Queimadas Forest Park

Queimadas sits above Santana on the north coast. The trailhead is a forestry park with thatched triangular Santana houses (the casas de colmo), picnic tables under fig trees, and a small café in the old shelter house that opens around 9am most days. Parking is €2 per hour, cash to the attendant.

Drive times we actually clock:

• From Banana House in Ponta do Sol: 50 minutes via the VR1 and the tunnel under São Vicente. We leave at 7am to start hiking by 8.
• From Funchal: 45 minutes via the same route. Add 10 minutes if you stop for coffee in Santana.
• From Santana itself: 10 minutes up a switchback road that turns into a single-lane track for the last 1.5 km. Pass oncoming cars in the laybys.

The track up from Santana is the bit guests forget about. Drive it slowly, take the laybys seriously, and bring a car you don’t mind scratching against a fern. The café at Queimadas does a poncha that tastes earned at the end of a 6-hour hike. Skip it on the way in. Get one on the way out.

The six tunnels

PR9 is the tunnel hike. People talk about the waterfall and the forest, but what sticks afterwards is the tunnels.

Six of them, all unlit, all carved by hand through volcanic rock in the 18th century. The shortest is around 30 metres. The longest sits past the halfway point and runs close to 180 metres with a slight bend that kills any ambient light from the entrance. You walk single file, water dripping off the ceiling onto your pack, the levada running alongside you at hip height.

What to bring:

• A real headlamp. 200 lumens minimum, rechargeable, on your head not your hand. Phone torches work for the short tunnels and fail in the long one.
• A buff or a cap. Ice-cold ceiling drip down the back of the neck takes the fun out of tunnel four.
• Shoes with grip. The floors collect algae. We’ve watched a guest skid into the levada channel up to her knee.

The third tunnel is the one that floods. After heavy rain, the floor sits ankle deep for 40 metres and the water is cold. We’ve waded it in October without drama and turned around at the entrance in February when the flow was up to the calves. If the rangers at Queimadas mention recent rain, ask about tunnel three before you commit.

The fifth tunnel has a low section near the exit. Tall hikers (anyone over 1.85m) duck. We’ve watched a Dutch guest pick up a souvenir bump on his crown.

The waterfall finale

The Caldeirão Verde itself is a basalt cauldron at the head of a hanging valley. Water falls 100 metres off the lip into a green pool surrounded by ferns and dripping moss.

How full it runs depends on the previous fortnight. In late spring (April through June) the spray reaches the viewing rocks. In late summer (August through October) it thins to a ribbon. After a heavy rain week, the cauldron roars and the air around it fogs a lens in seconds. Bring a microfibre cloth.

The pool is swimmable in theory. Water sits around 11°C year-round and the cauldron is signed against bathing. We sit on the rocks, eat a sandwich, and let the spray do the rest.

If you have legs left, continue another 2 km from the Caldeirão Verde lip toward Caldeirão do Inferno. The extension adds 90 minutes, three sketchy bridge crossings, and one of the most dramatic ravines on the island. Skip it on a first PR9. Save it for the return visit.

Permits and cost

PR9 requires a paid permit as of 2026, year-round. €5 per person per attempt. Kids under 12 hike free with a paying adult. Booking happens through simplifica.madeira.gov.pt in theory and through madeira.fun/hiking in practice, because the official site rejects most international cards.

We walk through the whole flow with screenshots in our Madeira hiking permits 2026 guide. The short version: book 48 to 72 hours ahead in shoulder season, up to a week ahead in July and August, save the QR code to your phone, show it at the Queimadas booth.

The booking covers a 24-hour window, so weather flexibility lives inside one permit. Parking at Queimadas is separate (€2 per hour, paid to the attendant on the way in, cash).

If you arrive without a permit and the daily cap hasn’t been hit, the rangers sometimes sell same-day slots at the booth. Don’t count on it in August.

After the hike

Everyone wants to drive ten minutes back down to Santana and sit somewhere with a kitchen and a fire. Our pick is Quinta do Furão in Achada do Gramacho, fifteen minutes east of Queimadas. The dining room sits on a cliff above the Atlantic with vineyards running down to the edge. We rate the espada com banana (scabbard fish with fried banana, a Madeira classic) and the lentil soup. A glass of Madeira wine after a wet hike does what coffee can’t. Bill lands around €25 a head with wine.

The second pick, ten minutes closer to Queimadas, is Cantinho da Serra in Santana itself. Wood oven, cozido on the lunch menu most days, a fireplace that earns its keep in winter. Cheaper, less view, more local.

When NOT to go

PR9 forgives more than PR1 but it has bad days.

After 48 hours of heavy rain. Tunnel three floods, the levada overflows, and the bridges past the Caldeirão Verde shake more than usual. Wait two dry days.

On fog days at altitude. The waterfall loses its drama in cloud. Check the Santana webcam at 6am. If the village is socked in, the levada above it is worse.

In strong wind. Above 50 km/h, branches come down in the laurel forest. We’ve watched a fallen laurel block the trail twice. Pick a south-coast levada instead.

Too late in the day. The last tunnels in the dark, on tired legs, with a fading headlamp, get sketchy fast. Start by 9am at the latest so you’re out before 4pm in winter and 6pm in summer.

For the seasonal big picture, our best time to visit Madeira breakdown covers the month-by-month patterns.

FAQ

How hard is PR9 Levada do Caldeirão Verde? Moderate. The 13 km return distance is the main ask. The path is flat (levada walks don’t climb) but the time on your feet adds up and the wet surface punishes worn-out shoes. A reasonably fit walker manages it in 5 to 6 hours including breaks.

Can kids do PR9? From around age 10 with confident adults. The tunnels scare younger kids and the drops to one side need careful eyes. Families with kids under 10 do better on PR11 Vereda dos Balcões or the wheelchair-accessible PR9.1 stub at Queimadas, which gives you a taste of the levada without the long day.

Can dogs come on PR9? On a short lead, yes. The tunnels disorient most dogs and the cold water in tunnel three is rough on small breeds. We’ve seen a calm border collie do the full trail. We’ve also seen a labrador refuse to enter tunnel two.

Can you swim at the Caldeirão Verde waterfall? Not officially. The pool is signed against bathing and the rangers check during peak hours. Water sits around 11°C, so the swim lasts about ten seconds before your legs forget how to function.

Can I do PR9 without a torch? No. The long tunnels are pitch black in the middle and the floor is uneven. The Queimadas booth doesn’t sell headlamps and the café doesn’t lend them. Every coliving in Ponta do Sol has a basket of spares by the door. Borrow one before you drive up.

How does PR9 compare to PR6? Different hikes. PR6 Levada das 25 Fontes is shorter (4.3 km each way, 3 hours return), wetter, more crowded, ends at a spring-fed lagoon. PR9 is longer (6.5 km each way, 5 to 6 hours), drier underfoot, less crowded past the first kilometre, ends at a 100m waterfall. PR6 is the cloud-forest sampler. PR9 is the long day out with a payoff.

Is Caldeirão Verde or Caldeirão do Inferno harder? Inferno is harder. It’s the 2 km extension past the Caldeirão Verde with three rough bridges, narrower path, and a sharp gorge section. Total day is 17 km return, 7 to 8 hours. Save it for a second visit.

Is there a guide for PR9? Not needed. The trail is marked and busy in the first 2 km. If you want company, Alex Boboc at mountain-alex.com runs a free Sunday community hike out of Cogite coworking in Ponta do Sol that hits PR9 in rotation. Five years on these trails, calm in bad weather. We cover his Sunday hike in the Madeira hiking pillar.

Stay a month and walk it twice

PR9 is better the second time. The first walk you spend half your attention on the tunnels. The second one you finally see the trail: ferns crowding the levada channel, laurels twisting overhead, the small side waterfalls you missed completely the first time.

We run Banana House year-round, one-month minimum, from €997 including bills. Seven private rooms in Ponta do Sol, 50 minutes from Queimadas, a kitchen that’s usually cooking, a basket of headlamps by the door. Walk PR9 once in spring volume, once in autumn calm.

See you at the waterfall. 🌿

If the ridge is next, the PR1 Pico do Areeiro guide covers the demanding one. For a warm-up, PR11 Vereda dos Balcões is a 90-minute viewpoint walk with the Areeiro ridge across the valley.