PR 17 · Madeira
Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal
Passable only between Encumeada, Folhadal, Caramujo and Bica da Cana.
The hardest classified trail on the island: 15 km across the centre from Lombo do Mouro to Encumeada, through long dark tunnels. Currently open only in part.
- Distance 15 km
- Walking time 6 h 30
- Highest point 1,490 m
- Difficulty Hard
- Route One way
Official figures. Walking times are moving times: they assume you never stop.
The route
One way. The trail ends somewhere else from where it starts, so plan how you get back before you set off.
The walk
Fifteen kilometres, six and a half hours, and the only trail on the official list graded difficult rather than moderate.
It follows the Levada da Serra and then the Levada do Norte, with stone-paved stretches of old path between them, and it goes through tunnels — long ones. No official source says how many, and the guides that give a number do not agree with each other, so we are not going to invent one. What every source does agree on is that a headlamp is required and a phone will not do.
Right now the whole thing is not walkable. Only the Encumeada to Bica da Cana section is passable, after storm and fire damage, and the IFCN has said the trail does not yet meet the conditions to be open.
If it fully reopens, the transport is the hard part: no bus goes to Lombo do Mouro, and Encumeada has one bus a day each way. Two cars or a taxi.
Long unlit tunnels, a full day of walking, and the only trail here officially graded difficult. Part of it is closed.
Before you go
By bus
Nothing at the Lombo do Mouro end. At Encumeada, Rodoeste line 300/301 (formerly 6) runs once each way per day: up at around 09:25, back at 16:00, and the timetable warns it can change with conditions on the ER 105.
What to bring
A headlamp, spare batteries, and food for a long day.
Toilets, water and food
A snack bar and toilets at Encumeada. Nothing at the start and nothing in between.
In the app
Everything for the day you walk PR 17
- You, on the line The whole trail on the map with your position on it, from the car park to the end.
- No signal needed Kept on your phone for the valleys and tunnels where the network goes.
- Today's free slots Every half hour of the day, live from SIMplifica, and booking in a tap.
- A timer for the walk Private, it counts from the trailhead and stops by itself at the end.
- To do, and done Mark the walks you want to do and the ones you have walked.
- Open or closed, every morning The IFCN status on every trail, read again each day.
Questions people ask
Is PR 17 open today?
Partly. The IFCN lists PR 17 (Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal) as partly open. Passable only between Encumeada, Folhadal, Caramujo and Bica da Cana.
Do I need a licence for PR 17?
Yes. Every visitor over twelve books an entry slot on SIMplifica, the regional government's portal, before walking, and pays €4.50. Madeira residents, children aged twelve and under and people with a disability of 60% or more do not pay, but still register.
How long does PR 17 take?
The official walking time is 6 h 30 for 15 km, one way. It is a moving time that assumes you never stop, so allow more for photographs, food and rests.
Can I get to PR 17 by bus?
Nothing at the Lombo do Mouro end. At Encumeada, Rodoeste line 300/301 (formerly 6) runs once each way per day: up at around 09:25, back at 16:00, and the timetable warns it can change with conditions on the ER 105.
Checked against
- Visit Madeira, official trail sheet PR 17 (15 km, 6:30, difficult, 970–1490 m)
- Visit Madeira status list: partially open, Encumeada to Bica da Cana only
- IFCN notices: trail does not yet meet conditions to open
- Rodoeste line 6 timetable, Encumeada
Status as the IFCN publishes it. This page was last rebuilt on 15 October at 07:00, Madeira time. Trails close without warning after storms: check again on the morning you walk.
Guides that mention this trail
Trails nearby
All 43 trails
PR 27 Closed Glaciar de Planalto
A short walk on the Paul da Serra plateau, from Bica da Cana. Classified in 2024 and closed at the moment.
- 4.6 km
- 1 h 30
Caminho do Norte
Three kilometres downhill from the Encumeada pass to Ribeira Grande in São Vicente.
- 3.2 km
- 1 h 30
- Moderate
- One way
Vereda da Encumeada
The mountain traverse from Pico Ruivo west to Encumeada. Half of it is currently closed.
- 11.2 km
- 5 h
- Moderate
- One way