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PR 6.4 · Madeira

Levada Velha do Rabaçal

Open
Licence needed · €4.50 a person Book on SIMplifica Which slots are free right now? The app shows every half hour, live.

The old channel above Rabaçal, from Pico Gordo down to the forestry house.

Official figures. Walking times are moving times: they assume you never stop.

The route

N 500 m
The whole trail, with you on it The full line, where you are on it and the way back, in the app. It keeps working with no signal.
Open it in the app
Start Line © OpenStreetMap contributors, for orientation, not navigation
1,000 m 1,050 m 1,100 m 1,150 m
The profile shows the shape of the walk; the figures above are the official ones.

One way. The trail ends somewhere else from where it starts, so plan how you get back before you set off.

The walk

Five kilometres along the original Rabaçal levada, the one the newer channel replaced. It starts on the ER 105 at Pico Gordo and comes down to Casa do Rabaçal, where all the other trails here begin.

Beyond the point where the described route turns off, the old levada carries on towards the Furado Velho tunnel, dug in 1855. That is not part of the marked trail and nothing official says whether it is passable.

The tourism board publishes no difficulty grading for this one, so we are not giving it one either.

Before you go

Where to park

Roadside at Pico Gordo on the ER 105. It finishes at Casa do Rabaçal, which is a 2 km climb back up the paved road to the main car park, or the shuttle.

A trail in the app: the timer, the line on the map and the elevation

In the app

Everything for the day you walk PR 6.4

  • 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.
Download on the App Store
Free. Scan with your phone.

Questions people ask

Is PR 6.4 open today?

Yes. The IFCN lists PR 6.4 (Levada Velha do Rabaçal) as open.

Do I need a licence for PR 6.4?

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 6.4 take?

The official walking time is 2 h for 5 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 6.4?

Roadside at Pico Gordo on the ER 105. It finishes at Casa do Rabaçal, which is a 2 km climb back up the paved road to the main car park, or the shuttle.

Checked against

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

Hiking and levadas History of Madeira's Levadas: Who Built Them and Why Madeira's levadas are water channels, dug from the 1400s to bring water from the wet north to the dry south for sugar, then bananas and power. Read 6 min

Trails nearby

All 43 trails
PR 6.6 Open

Vereda 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
PR 6.7 Open

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
PR 6.5 Open

Vereda do Pico Fernandes

The back way into 25 Fontes, dropping off the Paul da Serra plateau instead of coming down from Rabaçal.

  • 3.8 km
  • 1 h 30
  • One way