Hotels near PR13 Vereda do Fanal

PR13 is the walk that produces Madeira's most recognisable autumn photograph: the ancient, contorted Ocotea foetens trees of the Fanal crater standing in drifting mist. It runs 10.8 km linear, between 1,130 m and 1,420 m, rated Moderate, official duration 4 hours, starting at Assobiadores on the Paul da Serra and finishing at Fanal, passing the historic cable works at the sitio do Fio. The fee is 4.50 EUR, and the crater is a designated Rest and Quiet Reserve inside the UNESCO-listed laurel forest.

Autumn is the season for it because autumn is when the mist is most reliable, and because the coach crowds that reach Fanal by road in summer have thinned. That last point cuts both ways: Fanal itself is drivable, so the grove gets day-trippers who did not walk 10.8 km to reach it.

Be clear about the risks, which are the flip side of the appeal. The Paul da Serra plateau is featureless, and navigation in thick fog is genuinely hard, in exactly the conditions that make the pictures. The ER209 is high, exposed and can be closed in storms. The ground is boggy, there are no facilities on the route, and because the trail is linear you need transport arranged at both ends before you start walking.

Pro Tip: Download an offline map with the route before you leave Funchal, because the plateau has no landmarks and thin phone coverage. If the forecast gives fog but you cannot arrange a pickup at Fanal, drive straight to the crater instead and photograph the trees there rather than walking a plateau you cannot see.