PR 28 · Madeira
Levada da Rocha Vermelha
Closed, with no reason published. Closed trails cannot be booked on SIMplifica; check the status before planning around it.
A long levada route down from Fanal towards Lombo da Atouguia, with tunnels and a steep stairway. Classified in 2024, closed at the moment.
- Distance 10.8 km
- Walking time 4 h
- Highest point 1,297 m
- 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
The other 2024 addition. It leaves the Fanal plateau on the ER 209 and drops around 450 m to the old canal keepers' house, past waterfalls and through tunnels, with a steep staircase alongside the levada.
Like the PR 27 it is currently closed, with no published reason and no reopening date. While it is closed it cannot be booked.
Note that the official distance is given as 10.8 km by the tourism board and 10.7 km by the IFCN, and neither says whether that includes coming back. We have left the question open rather than answering it for them.
Before you go
Where to park
Free car park at Fanal off the ER 209 — the same one used for the Vereda do Fanal, with picnic tables and toilets.
By bus
No bus reaches Fanal.
In the app
Everything for the day you walk PR 28
- 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.
- 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 28 open today?
No. The IFCN lists PR 28 (Levada da Rocha Vermelha) as closed. Closed, with no reason published. Closed trails cannot be booked on SIMplifica; check the status before planning around it.
How long does PR 28 take?
The official walking time is 4 h for 10.8 km, one way. It is a moving time that assumes you never stop, so allow more for photographs, food and rests.
Where do I park for PR 28?
Free car park at Fanal off the ER 209 — the same one used for the Vereda do Fanal, with picnic tables and toilets.
Can I get to PR 28 by bus?
No bus reaches Fanal.
Checked against
- Visit Madeira, official trail sheet PR 28 (10.8 km, 4 h, 837–1297 m; no difficulty published)
- IFCN classified-trails list: 10.7 km, route Fanal – Casa dos guardas de canal (Lombo da Atouguia)
- Despacho n.º 473/2024, 9 October 2024 (classification)
- IFCN notices page (closure), page updated 24 July 2026
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 trailsVereda do Túnel do Cavalo
Into Rabaçal through an 800-metre tunnel cut between 1863 and 1877, from the Caldeira side.
- 2.3 km
- 45 min
- One way
Vereda da Câmara de Carga do Rabaçal
A short link from the Rabaçal loading chamber to the Túnel do Cavalo. The one classified trail with no official description at all.
- 1.8 km
- One way
Levada do Paul II
Um Caminho para Todos
A level 1.2 km beside the levada at Rabaçal, built so that people with limited mobility can get into this landscape too.
- 1.2 km
- 30 min
- There and back