17 – Levada do Estreito

The Levada do Estreito walk is quite flat and therefore accessible for almost everyone. We begin the walk in Garachico and walk towards Estreito de Câmara de Lobos.

The watercourse we follow is Levada do Norte, which is one of the longest and most important levadas of Madeira. It was built many years ago in order to bring water that was abundant on the Northside of the Island, to the South. In the South, the population suffered from a shortage of water. The precious liquid was then used to irrigate the agricultural fields. 

After the arduous completion of its construction, the South became greener and agriculture started to thrive. To this day, the Levada is used to help the locals water their plantation fields.

Along the route, we can observe the carefully maintained plantations of several types of vegetables and also fruit trees.

Nonetheless, the majority of the plantations we see in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos are the vineyards. The grapes from this area are used for the production of the famous Madeira Wine.

Throughout the walk, we experience fantastic views of Câmara de Lobos and Campanário.