Hotels near PR8 Vereda da Ponta de Sao Lourenco

PR8 looks nothing like the rest of Madeira: a treeless volcanic peninsula of red and ochre cliffs dropping into the Atlantic on both sides. It runs 4 km each way, 8 km return, between 23 m and 126 m, rated Moderate, official duration 2 hours 30, from Baia d'Abra out to Casa do Sardinha. The fee is 4.50 EUR. Part of the peninsula is a nature reserve, and you may see Cory's shearwaters, Bulwer's petrel and occasionally a monk seal offshore.

This has the strongest autumn case of any trail here. In July and August the peninsula is brutal, with no shade at any point and heat radiating off the rock; from September to November it becomes genuinely pleasant. It is also the driest corner of the island, which makes it the trail to swap in when Rabacal and Santana are in cloud, and the reason it sits fourth on this list rather than fifth.

The honest warnings are wind and expectation. There is still no shade in autumn, and the peninsula is very exposed, so an autumn gale makes it unpleasant or unsafe rather than merely blustery. Narrow ridge sections have drops on both sides. Baia d'Abra parking is chaotic and overflows onto the verge. And if you came to Madeira for green levadas, be warned that there is nothing green here at all.

Pro Tip: Do this one first in your trip, as a test of your legs and your head for exposure, and check the wind forecast rather than the rain forecast. Walk out to Casa do Sardinha, where there is shade and water, and turn back rather than pushing to the final viewpoint if the gusts are up.